A Change of Events
by Deja Know I Been Lookin For Vu
Summary: What would happen if Mara Jade convinced Emperor Palpatine to change the meeting place in Return of the Jedi from the Death Star to a ship away from the main Fleet? Perhaps he and Vader would survive? L/V. L/M.
1. Chapter One

**Title:**** A Change of Events  
****Author:**** Deja Vu  
****Summary:**** What would happen if Mara Jade convinced Emperor Palpatine to change the meeting place in "Return of the Jedi" from the Death Star to a ship away from the main Fleet? Perhaps he and Vader would survive? (Written when I was a beginning writer, so I apologize for the ridiculous parts.)  
****Rating:**** No language, some violence, a few graphic descriptions of torture and monster attacks.  
****Disclaimer:**** I don't own Star Wars, but this story is mine.  
****Characters:**** Luke, Vader, Palpatine, Mara, and others.  
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**"Master," the girl bowed her head reverently to the sinister black-robed Palpatine.

She wasn't an average Imperial...She wasn't even an average _looking_ Imperial.

Perhaps what was most striking about her was her eyes. They were green, burning brilliantly with an inward fire which often raged violently with little provocation. It was as an eternal fire that could never be extinguished by an outside force.

Her appearance was noteworthy in other ways as well. Though her stance was submissive, it spoke of a powerful spirit that was currently leashed only due to her Master's presence. As for the modest jumpsuit she wore, it revealed only a teasing hint of her powerful physique.

Along with a powerful physique, the girl possessed a beautiful pale face which was framed by red-gold locks of hair. Surveying her from behind would reveal the hair's drifting elegantly down her shoulders like a flowing river of fire.

Her age, nineteen, was hard to guess. She seemed hardened by the years, yet the appearance of youth clung to her persistently. Her knowledge, interestingly enough, exceeded that of most girls her age, as it had originated from being deep in Emperor Palpatine's service.

At first glance, she looked like a frail, exotic flower...But looks were deceiving, and she was as lethal as she was pretty.

In fact, she was known to Palpatine's inner court as "The Emperor's Hand."

Her name was Mara Jade.

"Yes, Mara?" the Emperor peered through slightly annoyed and suspiciously slitted eyes.

Mara Jade's duties and varied significantly, and she was trained in many aspects of life. She would always perform whatever duties were set before her without question, doing anything from massaging the Emperor's shoulders to assassinating political leaders that had displeased him. Not that he needed _her_ to massage his shoulders...

She hesitated. "I've had a—a premonition..." She didn't quite finish.

"Yes?" Palpatine urged her on, his reptilian-like eyes flashing with interest.

After a tentative pause, she rushed into what she had to say: "You shouldn't bring Skywalker to the Death Star."

Mara Jade would've given almost anything to not be required to make that statement, but he would know if she did not.

He knew everything about her. He knew every inch and fiber of her being..

She was born solely to serve him. And she would die doing so.

"This...feeling,...Is it a prodding of the Force?" The Emperor's evil eyes seemed to peer into the young girl's soul.

Mara suppressed a shudder. Despite her admiration for him, he frightened even _her_ sometimes. "Yes, Master."

The Emperor looked expectantly at her for more details.

"I had a vision of the future," Mara averted her gaze to the floor.

"My child, what happened?" The Emperor's voice sounded almost kind, but his beady eyes betrayed his greed for information...and for power. The two were not easily separated, and Palpatine knew that.

"Most of it is blurred and uncertain." She took a breath, trying to calm herself. The vision had been quite disturbing. "The Death Star blew up. And then I—" She cleared her throat and bit her lip. "—I sensed your death...and that is all I can recall." Mara finished quickly and forced herself not to shy away from him, expecting to be punished as the bearer of bad news.

"You think we should move our meeting place?" he inquired, so that he would know _precisely_ what she was saying.

Mara nodded, swallowing, "Yes, my Master."

The Emperor pursed his lips. "I suppose we can move our _meeting_ place, but the Imperial Fleet shall stay put. I doubt the pathetic Rebels could make a mark on _my_ precious Fleet without a thousand times the firepower, but I will take a minor precaution since _you_ think it would be wise...I will even allow you to come, and I shall equip you with a lightsaber. But if you are wrong..."

The threat hung heavily in the air.

Mara winced. She did indeed know what could happen if her vision didn't come true. She barely managed to refrain from touching her heart protectively, remembering the last time the Emperor had gotten angry with her.

"Go, young Jade, I shall inform Lord Vader of the change in plans."


	2. Chapter Two

Luke reluctantly left his sister in tears, as he had sensed Han's approach. He wished with all his heart that events could have worked out differently, that he did not have to go straight into the gloved hands of Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith and one of the most powerful men in the galaxy, but he reluctantly accepted that it was part of his destiny to return to his father.

What would happen when he got there, he hadn't a clue.

But he would ___not_ join his father...

He could not.

Luke traveled to the landing platform that was stationed near the Ewok village that he'd just departed from. Luke's Force senses told him that an anxious Vader was about to land upon it, and he abruptly stopped, almost wanting to lengthen his short time as a free man.

It was dark outside on the forest moon, but soon enough an Imperial walker came upon him, and when he was discovered, it pointed its cannons at him threateningly, and a male voice ordered him to halt. As he complied with the command, a pale gray shuttle landed on the platform, much like the shuttle the commando group had traveled to Endor aboard. Luke could sense that Vader was on the shuttle, eagerly waiting to meet his son again.

Luke stayed planted where he was, despite his misgivings, and three Stormtroopers came and cuffed his hands in front of him. They scanned him and took away his lightsaber, the only weapon he had with him, and the superior officer gave him a suspicious look. Earlier, after a small debate with himself, Luke had decided it best to leave his blaster behind.

Not that he needed one...

The scowling dark-uniformed officer demanded, "Tell me where your fellow Rebels are hiding."

"I am the only one here," Luke lied in a monotonous voice, giving the commanding Imperial a hard stare.

A Stormtrooper pointed a blaster at him angrily. "Answer his question."

"I am the only one here," Luke repeated with a hint of impatience, attempting to use Force persuasion to convince them, but his own frenzied emotions were swirling around too rapidly for him to concentrate on a task that wasn't exactly easy on a ___good_ day.

The commander glared at him and motioned for the Stormtroopers to move forward.

The Stormtroopers did so, marching in the rear. The officer led Luke and his guards to where Vader was waiting for his presence.

"This is a Rebel that surrendered to us. Although ___he_ denies it, I believe there may be more of them, and I request permission to conduct a further search of the area," the gray-uniformed officer petitioned the sinister Darth Vader. Vader looked emotionlessly at Luke while the man continued, "He was armed only with this." Luke's lightsaber was held out in his hand.

Darth Vader took the saber, "Good work, commander. Leave us. Conduct your search and bring his companions to me."

___No!_ Luke wanted to cry out, though he refrained from doing so. Was Vader determined to snatch away everything that was dear to him?

His hopes sparked briefly...Many Imperials were incapable of conducting a worthy search. Perhaps this was one of them...

The officer nodded, and Luke thought he could detect the hint of a taunting grin from the man. "Yes, my lord," the officer said before turing and leaving with the silent, white-armored guards.

Vader started walking. Luke silently brooding at his side.

"The Emperor has been expecting you."

Luke looked at him solemnly and managed to find his voice. "I know,...Father." The last was said with reluctant conviction.

"So, you have finally accepted the truth," the Dark Lord purred. His son was clever to know when he was beaten.

Luke was defiant, not willing to give in yet. "I've accepted the truth that you were once Anakin Skywalker, my father."

___And you still are!_ Luke thought desperately to himself. He knew that to an outsider he would appear to be grasping for straws, but his father still had a glimmer of the Light Side left in him, and both of them knew it.

Vader stopped and gestured at Luke fiercely. "That name," he held the word out, "—no longer has any meaning to me." This boy had better not push him, or he would show him the full-blown power of the Dark Side. Son or not, Darth Vader would only take so much from a Jedi Knight.

"It's the name of your true self, you've only forgotten." It was almost a plea. "I know there's good in you, the Emperor hasn't driven it from you fully." Luke was positive on this matter, and he turned around to look outside into the night, thinking about where his friends were...and his sister...

He continued with more confidence than he felt, "That was why you couldn't destroy me...That's why you won't bring me to your Emperor now." It was almost as if Luke were trying to use the Force to convince Vader, as he had done with Bib Fortuna in Jabba's palace, but the attempt would have been pointless. Vader was too deeply involved with the Dark Side to turn merely with a few words, even if they ___were_ from his only son.

Vader turned on Luke's lightsaber, adding a green glow to the room. Luke turned his head slightly, watching out of the corner of his eye. He almost wished Vader would cut him down now with it. But he knew that he needed to stall him and Palpatine, so the Rebellion could finally get rid of the two rulers, as well the Empire, once and for all. Luke would do anything to accomplish this, even if it meant sacrificing his own life.

"I see you have constructed a new lightsaber." Vader twisted the saber's handle around in his hands, the lasersword humming loudly, as if angry that it was being used by someone other than its creator. Vader scowled beneath his mask. The metal handle looked much like that weaker man's had, Anakin Skywalker's. How could he have ever been such a pathetic fool?

"Your skills are complete." Vader turned and extinguished the lightsaber. "Indeed, you are powerful, as the Emperor has foreseen." Yes, his son, his own flesh and blood, a young man full of power and potential...Potential that Vader could turn to his own advantage.

Possibly even against the Emperor...

Luke turned; he had to try at least one more last-ditch effort. "Come with me!"

Vader faced him and stated emotionlessly, "Obi-Wan once thought as you do. You don't know the power of the Dark Side. I ___must_ obey my Master."

Luke had made his decision, and he would not change it for anyone...Or anything. "I will not turn. And you'll be forced to kill me."

"If that is your destiny." Vader didn't want to kill his own son, and he would avoid it at all costs, but that did not mean he wouldn't do it if he had to.

Luke moved closer to Vader. This was his last chance. "Search your feelings, Father, you can't do this. I sense the conflict within you—let go of your hate!"

The door whooshed open, and the guards entered, starting towards them.

"It is too late for me, Son. The Emperor will show you the true nature of the Force. ___He_ is your Master now." Vader's tone left no room for argument.

Luke's hurt and dejected eyes looked up at his father. "Then my father is truly dead." He left his statement hanging in the air as he exited with the Stormtroopers, feeling rather downcast.

Vader turned and looked out into the night. He was sure Luke's friends were somewhere out there in hiding...

He felt the sudden urge to sigh. Oh, if only his son would allow himself to fully understand what was at stake...Then they could easily rule the galaxy together, and both would possess more power than a single person could ___possibly_ imagine...

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**Author's Note:** As I'm sure you realized, the dialogue and actions are from the movie. The departure from the movie comes soon. :D 


	3. Chapter Three

The shuttle left early during Endor's morning. Luke was expecting (and privately hoping) to be taken to the Death Star. Instead, they boarded Vader's Super-class Star Destroyer, the _Executor_, which he found out wasn't even in the same _system_ as the rest of the Imperial fleet.

Luke thought the situation was somewhat peculiar, but he had other things to think about,...such as finally meeting the evil Galactic Emperor face to face.

Luke was trying to control his fear and keep his breathing normal, as he was sure that the Emperor would greedily feed off it. It took a lot of effort, but he somehow succeeded.

Quietly, the young Jedi Knight walked at Vader's side through many long hallways, and they finally entered a large room and somewhat sinister room. The Emperor was at the room's focal point, sitting upon a rather big dark chair which seemed to merit the title "throne."

A small part of Luke's mind wondered if every Imperial ship had such a room, just in case the Emperor happened to visit it.

In the shadows next to the Emperor stood a young woman with fiery red-gold hair and piercing green eyes that seemed to bore into Luke's soul.

Luke shivered.

"Welcome, young Skywalker," Palpatine said in a low voice. It _might have been_ a welcome, but it certainly wasn't a warm one. "I've been expecting you." Palpatine gestured at Luke's hands. "You'll no longer need those." The cuffs came off Luke's hands as if they had a mind of their own, and Luke looked at them in a way that he sincerely hoped was emotionlessly. "Guards," the Emperor ordered, "—leave us."

To speak was to give the Emperor power, so Luke figured he'd best keep his mouth shut.

The Emperor's Royal Guards obeyed, but their body language signified that they would rather be here to protect their Master from Luke Skywalker, a Jedi Knight and their mortal enemy.

"I'm looking forward to completing your training...In time, you will call _me_ Master," he hissed. "Just like young Mara Jade here." Palpatine gestured towards the girl beside him. "She wisely joined us in using the Dark Side years ago."

"You're gravely mistaken. You will not convert me like you did my Father," Luke insisted, not even addressing the issue of Jade.

There was no doubt in Luke's mind now; he would not give in.

He couldn't afford to.

The Emperor stood up and moved towards Luke and Vader, looking a bit perturbed that he had been defied by a mere _boy_. "Oh, no, my young Jedi. You will find it is _you_ who are mistaken—about a great many things."

"His lightsaber," Vader said, holding out Luke's saber with a certain degree of pride. His son had made it _without_ an instructor looking protectively over his shoulders.

The Emperor took it, "Ah yes. A Jedi's weapon. Much like your father's...By now, you must know your father can never return from the Dark Side. So will it be with you."

Indignantly, Luke spoke, "You're wrong. Soon, your Empire will be in shambles, and you will have nothing to turn to in order to protect your power...Then you shall be destroyed." Luke suddenly wished they had gone aboard the Death Star, wondering yet again what had stopped Vader and the Emperor from taking him there. Didn't the Emperor wish to gloat over his enormous "indestructible" battle station?

As if reading his mind, Mara Jade gave him a venomous glare, eyes glinting.

"Perhaps you refer to the imminent attack of your Rebel fleet..." Luke tried to cover his surprise, and the Emperor continued, "Yes, I can assure you, my Fleet is quite safe from your _pitiful_ little friends." The Emperor turned and started walking back to his chair with the air of victory about him.

"Your overconfidence is your weakness," Luke shot, lacking anything better to say.

The Emperor swirled around threateningly and hissed, "Your faith in your friends is yours." He then continued to his destination, angry that a Light Sider had tried to belittle him.

Luke felt like spitting in the malicious ruler's face, but he knew it would only make matters worse.

Vader looked at Luke. Surely, he would stop this charade before long. "It is pointless to resist, my Son."

Palpatine sat down. "Everything that has transpired has done so according to _my_ design. Your friends on the sanctuary moon are walking into a trap. As is your Rebel fleet..." He gave an evil grin. "It was _I_ who allowed the Alliance to know the location of the shield generator. It is quite safe from your pitiful little _band_." The Emperor sneered, "An entire _legion_ of my best troops await them...Oh, I am _afraid_ the deflector shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive..."

The ex-senator turned on a viewscreen, watching it with malicious glee. Mara Jade also studied it from his side, but she did so in a cool and calculating manner...It reminded Luke of the Falleen that used to head the fallen Black Sun...Prince Xizor.

The viewscreen showed the battle taking place above Endor.

"Come, boy, see for yourself," Palpatine suggested malevolently.

Luke walked up to the image of the battle, dreading what he would see.

It was even worse than he had imagined; the Rebel fleet was slowly being crushed by the Imperial forces.

"From here, on your father's flagship, you will witness the final destruction of the Alliance and the end of your insignificant little _Rebellion_." The Emperor was smiling sinisterly, seeing the inner conflict play across Luke's face. The boy was his.

Luke's right mechanical hand clenched and unclenched. His friends could, and probably would, die. All so that this man, this, this _fiend_, could have control over the entire galaxy. Anger bubbled up in his chest. He looked at Palpatine and then at his lightsaber, sitting unattended next to the tyrant. His eyes flicked momentarily to the red-head, who gave him a warning look.

"You want this, don't you?" Palpatine touched Luke's lightsaber invitingly. "The hate is swelling in you now. Take your Jedi weapon. Use it. I am unarmed. Give in to your anger."

"No." Luke turned back to the viewscreen, feeling helpless. If only he could warn Han and Leia about what was going to happen...If only he had been taken aboard the Death Star instead...

But "if only's" were going to get him nowhere. He would have to reach down deep inside for his inner strength...Or what shreds of it that were remaining after his fear and growing animosity had slashed ruthlessly at it.

"It is unavoidable...It is your destiny. You, like your father, are now, mine." Palpatine gloated. Jade still stood quietly in the shadows at his side.

_Why is _she_ here?_ Luke wondered distantly in the back of his turmoiled mind. He reluctantly continued to watch the battle that was happening a few systems away, his hatred for the inhumane _beast_ beside him building. A thousand words to describe the Emperor, some that would cause his Aunt Beru to roll over in her grave, flashed through his mind.

"As you can see, my young apprentice, your friends have failed. Now, witness the firepower of my fully armed and operational battle station." Palpatine pressed a button, and a few seconds later, a hologram appeared of an Imperial officer. "Fire at will, commander," he ordered, throwing a wicked look over at Anakin Skywalker's son.

Luke tightened his fists again. There must be _something_ he could do...He turned and faced Palpatine, his blue eyes flashing with anger.

"Your fleet is lost, and your friends on the Endor moon will not survive. There is no risk, my young apprentice." The Emperor had no humanity left in him, only a lust for power.

Luke looked at Vader, as if pleading for him to do something. But Darth Vader was motionless.

"The Alliance will die, as will your friends...Good." Palpatine smiled. "...I can feel your anger. I am defenseless. Take your weapon, strike me down with all of your hatred, and your journey towards the Dark Side will be complete."

Luke looked back at the viewscreen, tempted despite his knowledge of the consequences if he took Palpatine's advice...He couldn't give in. He _couldn't_...

But his friends...

He took in a deep breath, then he shot around, and the lightsaber jumped into his hand. He slashed down towards the Emperor's head—

—and was blocked by Mara Jade.

The Emperor grinned with a sinister type of joy. "Good, young Jade."

Vader stood by. He understood that the Emperor wished to test _both_ of his apprentices, but he didn't trust that girl as much as his Master did.

Luke's face betrayed his blossoming rage, and he slashed fiercely with his green lightsaber, Mara elegantly blocking his slashes with the blue lightsaber the Emperor had equipped her with. Due to Luke's savage attacks, which were intensified by the fact that he had nothing to lose, even the talented Emperor's Hand was forced to remain on the defensive.

Blue eyes and a green saber sparked brightly, as green eyes and a blue saber returned the fiery blows.

Luke's saber was buzzing angrily as he violently thrust and slashed, and it was all Jade could do to parry his blows.

It was perfectly clear who was the better dueler, and just when it seemed that Luke was about to finish the Imperial agent off, his attacks began to slack off. He was slowly realizing what his anger had almost cost him. It wasn't long before Jade gained the upper hand and smoothly switched gears to offensive.

While he was blocking her feints and thrusts, he used the Force to sense which way she was going to attack to protect himself, and he tried to mull over something that was bothering him. Since he had more experience, or perhaps since he was just better at saber dueling, it didn't take too much concentration for him to split his focus. Luke concentrated on studying the saber's handle (which she was tightly clenching in her hands) while blocking all the blows she threw at him. It looked like—no, it couldn't be...

But it was.

It was his old lightsaber.

Anakin _Skywalker's_ old lightsaber.

Luke's _father_...

Vader sensed that, as Luke began calming down, something crucial was happening inside his mind, though the Emperor, who was not closely connected to the young Jedi, assumed that Luke was merely getting tired.

Darth Vader moved a little closer to his son, the Emperor not registering the move because he was caught up in observing the battle.

Luke sighed and switched off his lightsaber. He would not use their own methods to fight them. If he fought fire with fire, _he_ would be the one to get burned.

Mara slashed at Luke's head—

—and was stopped by Vader, who had turned on his own lightsaber the moment he saw his son conceding defeat.

The red lightsaber buzzed angrily against the blue one. Bad against good. But the irony was, for Luke in this case, the red was good, and the blue was bad.

Mara Jade glared at the Sith Lord, who sent, in return, a penetrating stare through his mask.

The Emperor looked slightly displeased at Vader's intervention, and he spoke with a sigh. "Switch off your lightsabers and bring Skywalker's to me. Mara Jade, you have done well. Vader, take young Skywalker and...convince him."

Vader nodded an affirmative, went up to his Emperor, bowed, and relinquished the lightsaber to him.

The Emperor looked at the young woman beside him. She looked like she was just barely keeping her tongue in check, and Palpatine told her, "You may go with him."

Mara Jade bowed her head, "Thank you, Master."

The cuffs floated back to Luke and placed themselves around his hands. He looked down at them, then back up at the Emperor with a stubborn set to his chin, but inwardly, shock was still rolling around at what he had almost done, and the price he would've had to pay if he'd furthered his walk down that dark road.

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**Author's Notes:** As I'm sure you noticed, much of the dialogue in this chapter is from "Return of the Jedi." Basically, the dialogue which does not have to do with Mara and which does not have to do with my slight change to the meeting place is from "Return of the Jedi" and therefore belongs to Lucas, not me. 


	4. Chapter Four

They swiftly strode down several corridors, Luke beside Vader as usual, and Jade trailed along behind them, trying in vain to burn a hole in Luke's back with her eyes.

Vader wished that the Emperor hadn't sent his Hand along, since he had a nagging feeling that she was there primarily to keep an eye on him and Luke, but there was nothing he could do about it. If he had protested, then Palpatine would have gotten suspicious, and his anger would have been aroused...And that would _not_ have been a good thing.

The silence as they walked along was almost unbearable to them all, and relief was felt by the three of them when they finally arrived at their destination. They were walking through the door single-file, but Luke suddenly halted mid-step in the doorframe.

There was a metal adjustable chair at the back of the small room, and a miniature, round black droid to the left next to a table with several questionable bottles, as well as sharp tools and other curious objects, scattered on it.

It was obvious what this room was used for: interrogations.

On a good day, when the memories weren't too strong and painful, Leia had once given Luke vivid details of her own interrogation on the Death Star.

Remembering caused the hair on the back of Luke's neck to raise.

Mara Jade scowled and roughly shoved Luke forward. "Move it, Skywalker, you're blocking the door."

Luke almost fell to the floor, but he caught his balance just in time. He threw a glare at her over his shoulder.

"Get in the chair," Vader instructed Luke.

Luke looked at Vader dubiously. The cuffs slid off his hands and floated through the air to the table where the droid was. He didn't move, and he soon felt an invisible force push him towards the chair. Luke gave in and sat down on it, glaring malevolently.

Binders on the chair snaked out from hidden compartments and fastened Luke's legs, hands, middle, and head into place so that he wouldn't be able to struggle. The chair slowly straightened out so that it was flat, then it tilted so he was in a diagonal position.

The droid put its built-in needle inside a bottle and sucked up some sort of green liquid. It inspected the liquid before squirting a little of it out. The droid came towards Luke, who tried to shy away from it, but he was firmly bolted into place. The droid injected it none-too-gently in Luke's arm.

The effects weren't immediate, but when the drug finally started working, Luke let out a low moan. His whole body felt like it was fuel for a raging fire. He tried to focus on using the Force to suppress the pain, but, in response, Vader used the Force to put a sort of Force-shield over him, like a cold, suffocating blanket. Luke attempted to use the Force again, but his body was in too much pain to repel the anti-Force cloak.

The droid prepared the needle again with a different type of drug, and it had to use one of its pincer-claws to hold Luke's arm still, because, despite the restraints, he was twitching wildly. It injected the liquid into Luke, who let out a half-yell. This particular drug made the pain even more concentrated. Luke could now practically count the nerves in his body.

Vader observed coldly. It would not kill his son, but perhaps it would break him.

Mara Jade stood on the other side of Luke, watching with a semi-triumphant smile. He would crack within a day.

The droid began to experiment, and Luke groaned, his hurt emanating through the Force so strongly that even Mara Jade had to put a block up.

"The pain will quit, Son, if you turn to the Dark Side," Vader informed Luke. _Give in now, Son._

Luke gritted his teeth, "Never!" A fresh wave of pain came over him, causing him to grimace. He tried to will himself to black out, but Vader would not permit him.

The droid quit and backed away to let Darth Vader experiment.

Vader tried to enter his mind, but Luke's walls were too high. The Sith Lord rammed against those barriers, but Luke would have to be worn down more before they would crumble.

Vader switched tactics. He used the Force on the area on Luke's arm just before where the mechanical part of his hand began, making him relive the pain losing his limb had caused him, as well as making him relive the situation mentally.

Since Vader had also experienced the loss of limbs, he knew how it felt, and he coupled his previous pain with the pain Luke had also felt at losing his.

Luke did his best to move his fingers to remind himself he still had his hand, but it was as if it had been chopped off by his father's lightsaber once again. He attempted to block the scene from his mind, and he tried to grasp his hand to reassure himself, but he was held back. He gasped as the painful memories resurfaced.

When Vader began experimenting with his lightsaber, Luke hissed in pain. He wanted to surrender, but he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to picture his friends' faces. He would take the pain for them.

Eventually, Luke let out an inhuman howl, and Vader stopped. He looked at Luke, who had his eyes tightly closed, his face wrenched in pain. "Do you surrender, Son?"

Luke murmured the negative, and his head started to spin.

Vader looked at Mara. "That shall be enough for today. Take him to his quarters, and ensure that the ysalamiri is healthy." He gave Jade a warning glare. "My son had better still be alive, or it shall be _your_ head." With a whisk of his black cape, Vader strolled out of the room to report to his Master.

Mara Jade looked at Luke Skywalker, who was only semi-conscious, and she walked over to him. After having the chair return to its original position, she released him from his restraints and nearly peeled him off the seat. He moaned and slid to the floor. Mara snarled in frustration, grabbed his arm, pulled him into a semi-upright position, and half-dragged, half-carried him out of the room.

It was a slow process.

Luke wasn't exactly heavy, but he was bigger then Mara was, and she had to stop several times to readjust her grip on the moaning farmboy. They finally arrived at their destination, and she entered in the code to open the door, dragging him inside. She dropped him to the floor in the middle of the cell and went and sat down against the wall, trying to catch her breath.

Luke moaned, then he rolled over to face her, coming to his senses.

_Oh, sure. He wakes up _now Mara thought exasperatedly.

She then placed a sneer on her face, as she had an image to uphold. "You certainly are made of tougher stuff than one would think at first glance."

"At least I'm capable of thinking for myself," Luke snapped back. He had no idea who she was on the Emperor's social ladder. All he knew was that Palpatine claimed she was a Dark Sider and that she appeared to be a personal agent of his.

"Oh, that was below the belt." Mara pursed her lips and glared venomously. Skywalker had better watch it. She had no qualms about killing Vader's son. Well, as long as she didn't count the Emperor's wrath upon her doing so.

"I have no intention of being one of the Empire's slaves," Luke growled. He didn't feel like messing with a sarcastic—and (though he hated to admit it) a more than slightly good-looking—female.

His head hurt...His back hurt...His feet hurt...Space, his whole body ached with pain, stress, and fatigue. He felt like he had been swallowed by a wampa, thoroughly chewed, and then spat back out.

"Better to be a Dark Side _servant_ than a weak-minded Light Side _fool_," Mara retorted, kicking him in the side.

Luke grunted and rolled away.

"Skywalker, you are impossible," Mara informed him in an annoyed voice before she left, the door closing with a hiss of air behind her.

Luke closed his eyes, trying in vain to will the pain away right before he slipped into unconsciousness.


	5. Chapter Five

When Luke finally came to, he tried to sit up. Soon enough, he found out that that was a bad idea. Pain swiftly blossomed all over his body, overwhelming his senses. He tentatively forced himself to lay back down, then he rolled over onto his side with a wince. He was quite startled to find Mara Jade sitting on the bunk in front of him, her piercing green eyes boring into his brilliant blue ones.

She had been studying him while he was asleep, and she couldn't stop thinking about his farmboyish face and soft features. She tried to keep telling herself that he was a murderous Jedi Knight, but she wasn't quite succeeding in believing it. He looked too..._innocent_.

"So, you're finally awake," Mara said, seeming annoyed. What Luke didn't know was that she was annoyed at herself.

"How long have I been out?" Luke's stomach growled in a reminder that he hadn't had a good meal in quite a while, and he gave Mara a sheepish look.

"Three days," she told him, ignoring his vocal belly.

Luke looked surprised. "And you didn't wake me?"

"It's not like I haven't tried." Mara shrugged her shoulders, "I told them I couldn't wake you, so they decided to let you rest up. I guess they were in one of their _very_ rare generous moods...But you're not to be fed for a few more days." Mara gave an evil grin, taking her mind off her uncomfortable thoughts concerning her master's right hand's son.

"So they're trying to wear me down physically." It wasn't a question.

"That's their plan—though it would all stop if you gave up," Mara offered, an inquiring gleam in her eyes.

Luke shook his head, trying to ignore the giant headache he was getting, but he only succeeded in making it worse. "No."

Mara shrugged again. "Suit yourself." She paused. "I have to admit, your stamina is greater than I anticipated. Especially seeing as how you're just a farmboy from some loser planet in the Outer Rim..." She smirked at him. "I thought you would break within a day."

Luke gave her a sarcastic glance. "Glad your opinion of me was so great."

"It wasn't that—I just didn't expect your stubbornness."

Luke gazed at her, amused, and, surprisingly, he was able to control most of the pain, as the drug's effects were slowly flooding from his system. "Ah, is that what you're calling it?"

"That's what it is...Or maybe that pitiful thing know as the Light Side is holding you back because it knows you are perfect for it: weak." Mara Jade's eyes sparked.

"Is that a challenge? During our lightsaber battle, it seemed my skill outweighed _yours_ tenfold," Luke wasn't about to be outdone by his enemy's "pet."

If looks could kill, then Luke would have been a flaming corpse. If even _that_ much had been left of him...

"I haven't had much training in that area, Skywalker, and, if I recall, near the end of our duel, I was stomping you flat! ...I would have finished you off if your father hadn't stepped in to save your helpless little butt." Mara gave him another poisonous glare.

"Only because I lost the will to fight."

It then became a battle of looks, a battle that was broken reluctantly by Mara Jade. "I have to go tell them that you're conscious now."

"Go. I'm not stopping you."

Luke noticed, with some satisfaction, that Mara gave an angry _hmph_ as she stormed out.

When she was gone, Luke chuckled at her temper, then he hissed as he could no longer stop his headache and it began to painfully grow into a migraine. Since he couldn't use the Force to stop the pain, he tried to remain as still as humanly possible.


	6. Chapter Six

Darth Vader was standing quietly by his Master, who was currently in his throne-room still steaming over the fact that the Rebels had recently destroyed most of his almighty Imperial fleet. Mara had been right after all, and though Palpatine thought it fortunate to have her as his servant, since she _had_ helped save his life, it didn't squelch his anger any. It was almost as bad as throwing wood _on_ the fire.

The remnants of the Fleet had regrouped with the _Executor_, far away from the Rebellion, which was stronger than Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader had originally thought.

Mara bowed down in front of her Master.

"Rise, my child."

She rose, looking down at the ground. "Skywalker is no longer asleep."

"Good. As I am sure you know, young Jade, converting Skywalker will not be easy. Thus, we are going to pull your feminine powers into play." Palpatine gave an evil grin. He was going to enjoy this.

"My...powers, Master?" Mara's head shot up, and she seemed a little bewildered.

"Yes, you are female—and he is only human."

"You—you wish for me to seduce him?" Mara tried to hide her horror.

"Unless you are going to refuse..." The Emperor looked at Mara threateningly, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"No, Master," she said quickly. "I just wasn't expecting those instructions. I will obey your orders."

"Lord Vader," Palpatine nodded at him pointedly, "—and I have talked over this. He is to seem displeased with you and Skywalker's involvement."

Mara lowered her head. "Yes, Master."

"This is so Skywalker shall not suspect foul play...I am sure you understand, my child." The Emperor gave his own twisted version of a fatherly smile.

Mara nodded again. She understood. She didn't like it, but she understood.

Palpatine instructed her, "Go now. Tell him that his father is tending to business and will see him soon enough. Make your peace with Skywalker, but ensure that you are not suspicious in doing so."

With a last bow of her head, Mara left her Master and his right hand. When she was out of their eyesight and felt the Emperor turn his mind to other matters, a scowl crossed her face. However, when she arrived in front of Luke's cell, she made her facial expression unreadable right before entering.

Luke was sitting up, heavily leaning his head back against the wall. The ysalamiri had been removed, and on his face was a look of concentration and intense pain. His sapphire eyes moved to her face curiously when she entered, and he questioned, "Back so soon?" A pause. "I see you're alone...Did your Master change his mind?"

Mara gave him a sarcastic smile. "No, Vader's in a meeting or something, but they will both be here in a little while. Meanwhile, I'm supposed to baby-sit you." _How in the worlds am I suppose to go about _seducing_ Skywalker?_ Mara wondered. She had led Imperial men astray from business before (something that wasn't that difficult), but never had she done so with a Jedi Knight.

"Look, I appreciate it, really. But it's not necessary. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." Luke shifted a bit, wincing at the pain that shot through his body.

Mara gave him a dubious look. "Obviously." She then decided to try a different approach. She placed a perturbed look on her face and sighed in resignation. "Do you need help suppressing the pain? I could serve as an energy source that you could tap into...I know how painful it is when you're not on the Emperor's good side."

Luke looked suspicious, then the suspicion fled from his face and was replaced by a look of pain. The hurt was becoming far too great for him to deal with alone without passing out in a few minutes. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, it's not like you're going to drain me of my life, farmboy, just a little energy."

_Why not? Luke thought. It isn't going to kill me...Well, _hopefully_ it won't he amended. _He reached out with the Force and grudgingly accepted Mara's help. The pain slowly began to fade from his body, eventually leaving behind only a small throbbing feeling. "Thanks," Luke said with genuine gratitude. He felt much better. His stomach rumbled again its demand for food, and he gave an embarrassed grin to Jade.

Mara bit her lip in thought. "I'll be right back." She turned and left the room quickly.

Quizzical, Luke watched her leave. Five minutes later, she returned, carrying something that looked vaguely like some type of plastic container.

"Here," she said, holding out some water. Luke grabbed it swiftly, since he was parched, and she explained, "I snatched this out of the kitchen. I was about to get some food, but the cook started coming around the corner so I had to scram. I'm only supposed to eat at designated times."

Luke guzzled down the cool liquid that the container held, "Thanks." It slid smoothly down his throat, moistening his mouth.

Mara smiled. "Don't mention it. Really, don't."

"Don't want your Master to know that you've been a bad girl?"

"Nope."

Luke grinned. "Right."

Mara slowly walked over and sat down by Luke, also leaning against the wall. At Luke's questioning glance, she said, "I could be here for a while."

"Well, in that case, I want to know a little about you." Mara looked like she was ready to bolt, and Luke laughed. "Nothing that deep...What's your name again, and how old are you?"

Mara seemed to be trying to look dignified. "Mara Jade, and I am almost nineteen."

Not much younger than him...

"How did you come into the Emperor's service?" Luke leaned forward and turned his head to look at her.

"That's none of your business," Mara frowned.

"Surely you can tell _me_. It doesn't look like I'm leaving here anytime soon, much less alive," Luke made a slightly disgusted face.

"Fine. But I want you to know that this is the point of no return. After I tell you, I'll be forced to kill you," Mara said, a teasing glint in her eyes. "Are you still sure you want to know?"

Luke pretended to contemplate that for a minute. "So, you're planning on bringing the inevitable about sooner?" At the rear corners of his mind, a little voice tugged at him, 'Death wouldn't be such a bad thing...' He thrust the thought away. Despite how strongly he disliked being in the Empire's hands, he didn't want to _die_.

"Yes..." Mara said, then she back-tracked. "Well, maybe not sooner, but it _is_ unavoidable," Mara gave a sinister smile, something she did all too often.

"I know it's unavoidable...But if you tell me, you won't kill me directly afterwards?" the Jedi looked hopeful.

"Probably not," Mara remarked, pursing her lips in mock-thought.

"Of course, if you killed me you'd probably be killed in return..."

"Yeah. That is, if I killed you now, but I'm not. So...Do you want to know or not?"

Luke nodded, looking at her in a way that made her extremely nervous...It was as if he could see right through all of her barriers. "I would."

"All right, but I warned you." Mara said as she moved around to face him. "When I was very young, about three I think, the Emperor took me from my home and killed my parents, who had tried to prevent him from taking me. He brought me to his palace, where I was put under several tests. Then, satisfied with the results, he began to train me. Just little things at first, but the amount and the difficulty of it all slowly began to increase. Now, I know about three hundred ways to kill you with my bare hands alone, and another thousand ways to do so with the Force." She smiled threateningly. "When I was about fifteen, he decided that I should see what happened to my parents _after_ their deaths. He showed me a holovid in which your wonderful little Rebellion _burned_ the tomb that my parents were buried in."

"That's a lie! We would _never_ do that. We respect the dead a whole lot more than the _Empire_ does," Luke said with a snort. Sensing that it was a touchy subject, Luke refrained from asking why she was still loyal to someone who had taken her from her childhood home and killed her parents.

Mara was about to smash his head into the wall when she remembered the Emperor's words. So instead she opted to lean incredibly close, saying a few choice words about the Rebellion that she only used in extreme circumstances. This accomplished two things: it added a little tension to the room and it helped her set him straight about her stand on the Rebel Alliance.

Luke attempted to give her a cold glare, but, due to their close proximity, it wouldn't have had any effect. So, muttering a few profanities of his own, he roughly pushed her back onto the floor.

She grabbed his arm at the last moment and pulled him down with her, so that he was pulled on top of her.

This time succeeding in giving her a cold, hard glare, he tried to remove himself from the uncomfortable position. Unfortunately, she wasn't about to let him go.

"Skywalker, if you _ever_ do that again, I will personally rip your—" Mara started, but she was cut off when the door whisked open.

Vader entered, followed by the Emperor and a few of his Royal Guards. He paused, stock-still for a moment, seeing the two entwined. He looked at them questioningly, and his eyes, hidden behind his dark helmet, seemed to stare into their souls. What they didn't know was that he was disconcerted at seeing the Emperor's plan working so easily already.

Flushed, Mara pushed Luke off to the side and stood at attention, standing so fast it made her head spin.

Luke gave her a venomous look and remained on the floor, scooting back against the wall. He looked at Vader and the Emperor defiantly. He wouldn't stand up for them.

"Well, I can see you are busy...And this is not that important," croaked the Emperor maliciously, turning to leave. It looked like it wasn't much of a challenge at all to get what he wanted. Merely a matter of time.

"You only wish!" Luke bit out to Palpatine and Vader's retreating figures. He hadn't expected _them_ to come in when they did.

"Excuse me," Mara said in an attempt to be polite, though the tone of her voice belied it. She quickly went towards the closed door and entered her code to open it. A few vulgar words escaped her mouth after a minute had passed, and she pounded the door in frustration.

"What's wrong? Unable to open a door that any three-year old could with ease?" Luke was very irritated.

"My clearance codes aren't working, which means I'm stuck in here with you for Sith knows how long," the Emperor's Hand said, hissing through her clenched teeth.

Luke gave a sarcastic smile. "The poor little baby doesn't get to take that hot shower that she wanted?"

"Bite me."

"Where?" Luke challenged. His eyes sparked with what was not-quite-hatred but was lurking on the edge of being just that if she didn't watch her mouth a little more closely.

"Oh, I've got a few ideas in mind." Mara remarked, adding a glare for good measure.

"You would!" Luke retorted.

A few more quips burst out, unbidden. "I just hope you manage not to provoke me into killing you."

"On the contrary, I think you hope that I _will_ anger you just enough for you to be able to go into a mad rage and slice my throat, blaming it on the "fact" that I tried to attack you."

He wasn't that far from the truth. "You never know."

It became another battle of looks, and Mara, remembering her mission, broke it for the second time with a sigh. "Fine. I'm sorry," she grated.

The Jedi slitted his eyes, "I don't think you are."

Mara sighed. "What do I have to do to prove it to you?"

"Behave like a normal human being?" Luke suggested.

Mara pursed her lips, giving yet another venomous glare. "Okay, let's start over. I am Mara Jade, better known as the Emperor's Hand." She held her hand out.

Luke looked at her expressionlessly, ignoring her offered hand and closing his eyes wearily.

Mara bit her lip. "I really am sorry. I'm doing my best to be social..."

Luke opened his eyes. "Fine. Do you know what they are going to do to me next?"

He was trying to get more information out of her, and she didn't like it one bit. "I'm sure they have something special planned for you."

Luke lifted his eyebrows and spoke dryly, "Oh, joy."

"So, how does it feel to be Darth Vader's son?"

He wasn't quite comfortable with that question, but he answered anyway. "When I was first told about it—it was like a lightsaber had sliced a hole through my heart. It felt like everything I knew wasn't true." Luke was distantly mingling in his memories.

Mara Jade shrugged. "Well, at least you grew up with a mother and father figure."

"And lies."

"You're not the only one."

Blue eyes met emerald green ones, both showing hurt and, strangely, empathy. Hesitantly, unsure of what in space was getting into him, Luke brought his left hand, callused from many years of farm work, up and cupped her delicate cheek, bringing her face to his. He leaned down, gently placing his lips upon her petal soft ones. The kiss was long, but Luke had to reluctantly break away for breath, leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes, drained.

Mara smiled. He had fallen asleep.

Mission accomplished. Well, part of it anyway.

And yet, Mara somehow couldn't quite shake off the feeling that she wasn't just doing this for her Master, that she was also doing it for some sort of personal gain.

Mara pushed the thought into the depths of her brain. She was supposed to serve and obey her Master. She shouldn't be feeling the emotions that she was.

She leaned lightly against him, dozing off herself.


	7. Chapter Seven

The Emperor and Darth Vader entered, startling Luke and Mara awake. Mara scampered to her feet yet again, bowing. "M-my Master," she stuttered out.

The Emperor looked suspiciously at her, but beneath his tough exterior she could detect the hint of glee. In a commanding tone, he ordered, "Mara Jade, follow me."

Mara nodded, fear apparent on her face, and obliged.

Darth Vader turned to Luke after they left, his body language signifying clearly that he was angry. "Come with me, _Son_," he sternly told him. "I do _not_ want you to have _anything _to do with the Emperor's servants, whether _he_ does or not. Today, you are going to be subjected to something different than traditional torture...Unless you wish to give in ahead of time?"

"Never," Luke told him defiantly, reaching inside himself for the strength that he knew he would need.

"Very well. Come with me," the black-armored Sith Lord said, his breath mask hissing ominously.

Vader led his son to a large room, and Luke suppressed the urge to say what was on his mind. _I have a really bad feeling about this._

There was a huge durasteel cage nearly hidden in strangely shifting shadows. Using the Force, Vader opened the cage's large barred door and threw Luke unceremoniously inside of it.

His son was stubborn, but hopefully this particular experience would change his mind.

Luke tried shaking the bars, but as soon as he touched them he received an electrical shock. He tried to use the Force to open the door, but Vader prevented him from doing so. "You must kill the creature."

Luke didn't want to kill anything, much less some beast. He'd had enough encounters with wampas, dianogas, and rancors. He didn't want to add another monster to the list. Nevertheless, he gulped in anticipation, steeled himself, and tried to peer into the shadows. He heard a low snoring noise, then a snuffling sound, and two big, luminous red eyes opened. The beast snarled deep inside its throat and slowly stalked forward.

As it came closer to the light, Luke got a better view of it. It was equine, with a muscular black body, and a white, sharp bristly mane. On the huge creature's forehead were two gray striped and pointed horns, and on the back of its leg, just above its hooves, were sharp spurs. It had two human-like black arms on its barrel, which were waving about in an eerie manner, and its tail resembled a krayt dragon's in that it was perilously spiked.

It whinnied, baring its fangs threateningly. The beast pawed the ground roughly, albeit hesitantly, then after a second of thought it charged purposefully at Luke. After a split second when all of his remains of self-control fled, Luke tried to fall and hit the ground for leverage to roll away, but the beast was too swift for him, and Luke received a glancing blow on his shoulder. He fell to the ground, his shoulder burning as if a flame were raging within it. Luke grimaced and brought his hand protectively to his shoulder, pressing hard to try to stop the blood flow.

The dangerous animal reared but came down on thin air. It shook its mane, spying him on its right. It rushed at him, and its horn struck Luke's shoulder again.

The horn, which was long and incredibly sharp, went in deeply, but, fortunately, it didn't quite come out on the other side. Luke cried out in pain, trying to yank his shoulder back. The beast helped him in that it shook him off its horn.

Next, it attempted to trample him as a means of death. It succeeded in slashing his arm with its spurs and crushing his right foot. The shattered bone of his ankle poked through his skin, and he yelled again, hurting and bleeding badly as he rolled out of the way. After getting a quick look at his foot, he moaned in frustration.

Luke scrambled to get up, remaining unsteadily on his one good foot. The beast growled and charged. Using the Force, Luke jumped into the air and managed to get on its back.

This was a new experience for it, and the equine creature went into a mad rage, bucking wildly. Luke held on for his life, in spite of his being continuously slapped in the face by the creature's mane's sharp bristles. His face was welting up, and his eye was swollen shut. As if that wasn't bad enough, he was barely able to maintain his grip—his hands were being assaulted as well. The beast tried to remove his legs, which were clasped tightly around its barrel, with its creepy human-like arms.

The creature's tail lashed up angrily. It kept hitting Luke's back with its sharp spikes, yet somehow he still kept his grip. It then started ramming into the side of its cage as a method of getting rid of him. Both the beast and Luke released loud howls of pain as the electrical current coursed through their bodies.

It roared, neighed, and started bucking harder, flinging Luke off to the side. He hit the floor with a sickening thud and a low moan.

The beast was surprised that it was rid of its burden, and it decided to punish him for the trouble he'd caused. It reared again, and its forelegs landed on Luke's stomach, hard enough to cause him to vomit. Though the force wasn't enough to _crush_ his chest, the spurs dug into his thorax harshly.

Luke managed to crawl weakly out of the way, and the beast's angry red eyes followed him. It whinnied, and he took in a shaky breath. Using the Force, Luke somehow managed to hoist himself up onto the creature's back again. With another roar of rage, it started shaking itself madly to throw him off. Luke concentrated on holding on, and, as the idea came to him, also on slowing the beast's heart. It began to wheeze and ramble about. It finally stood up on its hind legs, causing him to drop down from its back, and then it, too, fell. It collapsed on Luke, dead.

When Luke had hit the ground, it had nearly paralyzed his back, and the sheer weight of the beast landing on him was certainly nothing to sneer at either. It weighed several hundred pounds at least, and the dead creature, though its full weight wasn't on him, was slowly crushing his ribcage. It was hard work for Luke to breathe, remain conscious, and use the Force to ease off some of the pressure from the creature's weight. On top of it all, the beast's horn had managed to slash a nasty gash in Luke's cheek when its head had jerked as it fell.

Vader opened the cage's door and walked to his son. He looked down at him. "Use the Force to remove it." Vader hated being so cold, but the Emperor was watching them via surveillance cameras, and he saw any warmth as weakness.

"Father—please..." Luke begged, coughing up blood. He could feel his life draining out of him as it became more difficult to breathe.

Feeling that perhaps his son had suffered enough for one day and that maybe the Emperor wouldn't be _too_ angry with his interference, he removed the beast from atop the boy. He really didn't want to hurt his son, but Luke was giving him no other choice. Vader asked the inevitable question: "Is this enough to convince you to turn? You can get immediate medical attention, _if_ you do so."

Despite his weakened condition, Luke managed to reply indignantly, "I'll never join you." He spat at his father's feet. "I would rather die a thousand deaths."

"So be it. But you _will_ turn, someday," Vader rumbled, ignoring the saliva on the ground in front of him. "It is your destiny."

Destiny was something Luke had had enough of, and right now all he was worried about was inhaling and exhaling. Vader loomed over him and ordered him to get to his feet. It was a very slow process, but Luke managed to climb up with a little help from the Force. Darth Vader walked out of the cage, not slowing his pace even a notch for Luke. Luke hobbled after him on his good leg, using the Force yet again to assist him. It would be useless to try to run away, so Luke just followed him to the best of his injured ability.

Vader led his prisoner to his cell, pushing Luke inside with the Force. "Rest well." A timed pause. "You only get an hour to do it," he said, leaving his son alone. Once outside the cell, he brushed Luke with a concealed Force probe and found that the damage wasn't fatal. He heaved an inward sigh of relief.

Wincing, Luke drug himself over to the wall, leaned back, and concentrated mainly on breathing and healing himself. A few minutes later, Mara entered with a sneer and a sharp reprimand on her lips, but her jaw dropped and the words died unsaid. She stood wide-eyed in the doorframe as she surveyed his condition. Luke looked up at her through his one good eye for a fraction of a second, then he pulled his gaze down down to the floor. "What'd he do to you!" Mara exclaimed.

Shutting his non-swollen eye tightly, Luke grunted an answer: "Beast."

Mara's eyes widened in understanding. "It must have been one of the Emperor's newest pets—one of the Deh'th'tu'thouw." Luke looked at her skeptically, "He thought it was a funny name...So far he's only used them to kill people that greatly angered him. You're the only survivor to date. He has a few breeders, and one recently had a rather large litter...Was it long-haired or short-haired? What color?"

Laboriously, Luke wheezed, "Short. Black 'n' white."

"Ah...That was a larva then."

Luke opened his eye, "Larva? Wasn' nuttin' like a grub."

"I know it's not a very accurate term. But there are three stages they go through. There's the larval stage, in which they are very temperamental, as you can tell by the one you were mauled by; there's the second stage, in which they are _very_ well-armored—the Emperor refers to that as the cocoon stage; and there's the last stage, which he calls 'The Final Metamorphosis.' Believe me, you _never_ want to battle the final stage..." The Emperor's Hand gave a sly grin. "Of course, you never want to fight _any_ stage, but you know what I mean..." Mara walked over to him and sat down. She bit her tongue, wondering how to start dressing his wounds. "Do you want me to help with the Force, or just physically?"

Luke answered perhaps too quickly, "Force."

She looked at him quizzically, but she soon reached out to the Force and concentrated on healing his deeper wounds. "You might want to go into a trance..."

Luke hadn't wanted it to come to that, since healing trances took a while to be effective and he only had an hour available to use, but it was probably the best he could do for now, seeing as he lacked a bacta tank. Nodding, he brought the Force about him, and before long he was lost in that cryptic place Jedi went when they entered a trance.

* * *

Mara delicately brushed the sweaty hair out of Luke's face after bringing some fresh water from the kitchen to clean his wounds with. She ripped off part of his ragged shirt and dampened it, gently dabbing it on his wounds to remove dirt. After a little more first aid, there was nothing more she could do with the limited materials at hand. Only several hours in that healing trance, or a long bacta dip, would do him good now. Unfortunately, he could have neither. She reluctantly left the room. She knew that she didn't want to be here when Vader came back. He had never liked her, and the new role she was supposed to play didn't help with matters. 


	8. Chapter Eight

Luke was shaken out of his healing trance by a pair of firm arms. Blinking both eyes (his swollen eye's condition had improved during his trance), he looked up into Mara Jade's face. Now _that_ was a sight he wouldn't mind waking up to every day...

He gave himself a mental kick. He needed to get his mind off his hormones and onto the problem that was sure to face him as soon as he left the cell. Most of his tormenting pains were gone, and his ankle was feeling better, though it wasn't doing as well as he would have liked. He also still had a few rogue pains that insisted on shooting through his body at random intervals.

Mara Jade spoke and snapped Luke out of his reverie. "Up, farmboy."

She got to her feet and backed up beside Darth Vader, who instructed her, "Leave us."

The Emperor's Hand nodded, and, with a last concerned glance at Luke, she left the room.

The Jedi struggled to his feet, his ankle feeling like it was going to crack in two.

"Follow me," Vader ordered, striding out of the room, the door opening in front of him with a slight hiss.

Luke did as he said, hobbling along behind him. He placed very little weight on his hurt ankle. He had overestimated his healing capabilities.

"What this time?" Luke inquired, throwing a sideways glance at his father.

"You will see," was the only reply he got.

After more hurried limping through seemingly endless corridors, they finally came upon a door that Darth Vader entered.

Luke followed, and after he passed through the doorframe, he stopped and gasped. The room was _huge_.

Swallowing, he looked up...and up...and up...

If he squinted really hard, he _thought_ he could see the ceiling...But that might just have been the distorted shadows playing tricks with his mind.

Reluctantly, he brought back his gaze to the enormous cage that no doubt contained the inevitable beast whose main thoughts were its next meal. Calling the cage "enormous" didn't even _begin_ to describe its true height.

The cage bars were incredibly thick, and he could practically feel heat from the large amount of electricity that was undoubtedly coursing through it to prevent the creature from escaping and going on a rampage.

Luke's blue eyes tried to pierce through the darkness that hid this particular monster, much like the shadows that had obscured his vision of the other beast, but he couldn't even see the _end_ of the room.

The room was almost as wide as it was long, but, being in the middle of its width, Luke could see at least a fuzzy glimpse of what appeared to be the wall on both sides of him.

Straining his ears, he could hear deep, ragged breathing coming from the _far_ side of the cage.

Darth Vader walked up to the cage, punched in a code, then used the Force to dump Luke inside.

"Remember, if you surrender, the pain will stop."

Even the cruel Dark Lord was a little uneasy about sending the boy into a cage with the _ultimate_ Deh'th'tu'thouw form. But the Emperor had insisted, and as Vader did not have a death-wish, he knew he had best comply.

And so, here he was, standing by as a spectator and hoping against hope that _this_ creature wouldn't finish off his son.

Luke didn't answer Vader, and he didn't even bother trying out the sturdiness of the bars. He was stuck inside until either he or the beast died. There was no other way around it.

But he wasn't about to go looking for it and wake it up, even if he _did_ want to see what it looked like. It probably had a monstrous appetite and would swallow him in one gulp without a second thought.

He contemplated sitting down in a corner, but then he decided he would need freedom of movement if the beast suddenly woke up.

He heard—_and_ felt—a low rumble that shook the floor. He looked down at the metal ground under him insecurely, as if it would cave in at any instant.

A long yawn assaulted Luke's eardrums. Judging from the noise, the beast must have been bigger than he'd imagined.

He could hear a metallic clacking against the floor, and he assumed that it was the Deh'th'tu'thouw stretching its undoubtedly clawed limbs.

It snuffled loudly, and then it was quiet.

After a moment in which Luke's apprehension grew, a screeching howl came from it that chilled Luke's blood. It was a disturbing sound that no creature in the galaxy had a _right_ to make. He noted distantly to himself that the beast's scream probably often froze its prey into place with fear.

As this thought occurred to Luke, he abruptly dove to the side, causing the creature to ram into the cage's bars. It let out a moan of pain as the electricity punished it for its clumsiness.

During the brief lack of attention that it was giving him, Luke managed to get his first good look at it.

It was long-haired, to say the least. Its body basically resembled a big, furry, purple sabercat. It had a bright orange face and a large warped red nose. Its green whiskers jutted out at various angles, giving it an almost comical look..._Almost_.

It looked like it could have fit an entire squadron of X-wings into its mouth, and its glistening sharp fangs would have had no problem in crushing the metal.

Luke was barely a blip against its pointed claws, and he wasn't about to be taken down by them.

_Sith, it must cost a fortune to keep this thing fed..._

Unless _that_ was where they sent all the Rebel prisoners that they no longer had any use for...

The thought made him sick.

Throwing all disturbing thoughts to the wind, Luke ran to the far side of the cage as fast as his injured leg would let him go.

The Deh'th'tu'thouw's tail lashed angrily at him, but only the very tip of it hit him. Yet even the glancing blow that the tail gave him was enough to send him flying and smashing into the floor.

His jaw hit the floor hard, and he thought he heard a crack somewhere within. The impact of his body with the ground caused him to bounce up a little, and his nose met the floor.

Carefully testing his jaw, he spat out a piece of tooth that he'd somehow chipped off of one of his canines. Blood from his nose streamed down his face, and he cautiously moved his left arm.

It was broken.

He tested his other body parts and found that his ankle was in a condition much worse than previously, and his right wrist was sprained where he hit it in his fall. Great.

Luke's frustrated observation happened in a manner of seconds, and the beast swiftly got over its initial surprise at being mildly electrocuted and let out a blood-curdling scream.

He'd always thought the Krayt Dragon howl was bad. But it was merely a whisper of annoyance and brought very little fear when it was compared to this.

Trying not to let the beast's loud noise-making get to him, Luke hurried to his merely bruised foot and lightly applied weight to his not-so-lucky leg.

He hissed in pain and wiped some of the blood off of his face with his right arm. His left arm dangled uselessly at his side.

_Move now!_ his subconscious warned him.

He complied and sprang forward, rolling to the side.

_Get a grip on yourself. Curiosity killed the sabercat you know...Try to stop its heartbeat! _part of Luke's mind instructed him.

_And we all know how well _that_ worked out last time, now don't we?_ another side sneered.

While his inner voices fought, he continued his attempts to dodge the Deh'th'tu'thouw that was now leaping right towards him. For all his effort and forced agony, he was still given a very long and deep gash along his midsection.

Crying out in pain, he fell to the ground, holding his side. Moaning, he looked down...and immediately wished he hadn't.

Blood was seeping from his middle down his legs like a scarlet river. He thought he could actually see at least three of his ribs—though his imagination was probably making it a lot worse than it actually was—and when he glanced at the floor he could have sworn he saw a few chunks of his own skin.

Seeing the condition that his body was in made him hurt even more, and he wrenched his eyes shut in pain.

He needed to kill the beast now...Before it killed him.

Wondering why he hadn't tried it earlier instead of waiting to catch a glimpse of the creature, he reached out to the Force and tried to concentrate on finding his heart.

Well...He found it...But there was a slight problem...

The creature had _three_ krething hearts!

Luke groaned. Just another problem to add to his constantly growing list.

It had three stomachs, too...

_Forget about which part of its digestive system you're going to end up going to and move your lazy butt out of its way before it stomps you flatter than an unarmed slaver on Kashyyyk!_

Luke mentally berated himself for not killing the thing while it was still asleep, and he tried to roll away from it.

A wise green alien had once said: "Do or do not, there is not try." In this case, there certainly _wasn't_ a try.

His attempt at escape failed, and the Deh'th'tu'thouw scooped him up in a clawed paw. It licked its jowls hungrily and gave him a toothy, taunting grin.

The groaning Jedi tried to struggle, but he was held as tight between the beast's paws as a bug would be in a wampa's hands. If there were a type of bug that could actually _survive_ on Hoth...

The feline-like creature flexed its paw, squeezing terribly tight against Luke's ribcage. Now, he had at _least_ two cracked ribs.

A dozen plans flashed through Luke's mind...all of them useless.

* * *

Darth Vader was unable to see what was happening, as they were far into the shadows and out of his line of vision, but he was able to use the Force to give him a partial picture.

What he could discern from it was _not_ good.

_Kreth!_ he cursed. _I knew I should have refused to let the Emperor subject _my_ son to this..._

He could only hope that his boy was as strong as Palpatine _thought_ he was...

* * *

Strength was something Luke definitely wished he had an incredible amount of, but anything he could do to the furry creature would just be a minor annoyance to it.

It was bringing its arm up to its gaping jaw, and Luke got a clear view of a huge cavern of teeth. Saying a silent prayer, he tried digging his nails into its pawpad, but the creature merely made an inquisitive _purrl_ and continued its paw's ascent towards its open mouth.

_What a way to go out_, Luke thought. _Luke Skywalker, slayer of rancors, survivor of wampa and dianoga attacks, eaten by an overgrown pussycat._

The last thing he saw was the Deh'th'tu'thouw's saliva slickened fangs.

And then it all went black.


	9. Chapter Nine

Although Darth Vader could not _see_ his son entering the beast's mouth, he could sense it through the Force.

Curse Palpatine! Vader should never have listened to that obsessed tyrant.

_You mindless fool! Your _son_ is going to pay for this with his life!_

He should have gone with his gut instinct, which had very clearly told him not to even bring Luke into the same _room_ as this monster.

He mentally went through his extensive list of Huttese, Toydarian, Corellian, and Wookiee swearwords, several of which he made up on the spot.

He began to go through them all over again, this time out loud, when he noticed that something was nagging at the edge of his consciousness.

_He could still sense Luke's Force presence!_

It was faint...But it was _there_.

* * *

Well, Luke's Force presence was definitely there...

And he felt like he was _about_ to faint...

The noxious fumes that seemed to originate from the creature's throat almost made him throw up in disgust. The Deh'th'tu'thouw's saliva was sticky, and it coated him like persistent mud.

After he had been dumped inside the creature's mouth, he'd blindly felt around until he touched its monstrous teeth. He'd then grabbed on after a millisecond of hesitation and gotten as good of a hold as could be expected in his predicament.

Its dry, sand-papery tongue was now bashing against him painfully, and his body was aching horribly and begging him to give in.

But he wouldn't let himself give in.

Luke refused to give the Emperor the satisfaction of knowing that his death had resulted from a forced encounter with one of his cruel pets. No, his death would be more honorable than _that_.

His wrist throbbed in a constant reminder of its sprained condition, and Luke's grip was slowly slipping. He wasn't sure how much longer it would be before he slid down its throat and found out which stomach he _was_ going to.

A particularly pessimistic person might think that he had been merely been thinking of a thousand death scenarios, holding on for dear life, and doing little else besides hoping.

And they would have been partially right.

He _was_ frightened, grasping the tooth with all his strength, _and_ hoping. But he was _also_ concentrating on making its heart stop beating. But his efforts were all in vain because when he stopped one heart and started to work on another the first one would just start beating again. He tried splitting his concentration, but it was hard to focus since his entire body was throbbing in pain.

He sighed in resignation. Scratch that plan.

The irony was not lost on him.

Giving a grim smile, he tried to rack his brain for another idea, the gruesome tongue still splattering against him and trying to remove him from his handhold. The Deh'th'tu'thouw let out a confused and slightly agitated purrl.

He'd have to find another organ to wreak havoc on, since he wasn't having much look in stopping its blood flow...

What about its brain?

Nah, too complicated...

He could plug an artery...Rip its spinal cord...

Neither thought appealed to him, though it wasn't like he had much choice...

But then again, there was always the jugular vein.

It might be a bit bloody, but seeing as how he was inside its mouth he didn't see how it would affect _him_ much.

The Deh'th'tu'thouw was now gnashing its teeth together to get him to let loose, and it let out a great roar in annoyance.

Luke winced. Any more of that and he wouldn't have to _worry_ about hearing its banshee cry.

He would have preferred to have a very large weapon to complete the task (well, it would have needed to be a very _very_ large weapon), but he would have to deal with using the Force.

He allowed himself a brief smile. He'd never thought that he'd be complaining about having to use the Force to save his life.

Mystical energy field that it was, it was more than adequate to complete the task.

The Jedi called the Force to himself and concentrated on the Deh'th'tu'thouw's neck. It didn't take too much searching before he sensed the large, pulsing vein.

A small part of Luke wished that he didn't have to kill it. He wanted to save _his_ life, but he didn't hold the beast's primal instincts against it. It wasn't _its_ fault that it had such a predatory appetite...

It was hard to explain what he did next, but if someone had asked Luke how he did it, he would have replied that he had somehow shaped the Force into a dagger...and stabbed.

With a roar that Luke probably could have heard all the way back in his cell, the beast started hacking desperately and throwing itself around.

The sheer immensity of its desperate bucking and whipping back of its head was enough to tear its tooth from Luke's death-grip and fling him out of its mouth, causing him to hit the floor with a sickening thud.

The Deh'th'tu'thouw threw back its head and let loose its final death-cry, the horrendous sound ending with a strangled cough as it collapsed onto the ground.

But Luke was unable to hear it. After slamming onto the floor, he had had been knocked into blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

Darth Vader had been alarmed when the beast had seemingly started throwing itself around for no obvious reason. But it had came close to the edge of the cage during its panicked bucking, and he had seen the red blood darkening the purple fur on its neck.

It had then given out a loud cry and sent his son flying out of its mouth to slam down on the ground so heavily that the pain must have been horrendous. After it had gotten rid of its prospective meal, it had let loose a disconcerting howl that had made the Sith Lord back up a few steps uneasily despite knowing that the cage's bars gave him protection from the beast.

The Deh'th'tu'thouw had finally broken down and slumped to the floor beside Luke, the tip of its large tail pinning down the boy's right arm.

Darth Vader cautiously entered and walked up to the beast to ensure that it was fully dead. He prodded it carefully with his booted foot.

Its body remained still, so he turned around to look at Luke, satisfied with his observation. But without warning, it jumped up into the air with a screech, its body twisting towards the Dark Lord. Just when it was almost on top of the scrambling Darth Vader, it jerked backwards as if shot. Its body fell heavily to the ground, and this time a massive paw trapped Luke under one of its pointed claws.

Warily watching the Deh'th'tu'thouw, Vader strode over to his imprisoned son.

The boy's chest rose and fell, but it was with a struggling effort. His Force presence was flickering, and the blood-spattered youth looked worse for the wear.

Luke's blood mingled with the hideous monster's, and it was hard to tell which scarlet liquid belonged to whom.

After a final laborious breath, Skywalker was motionless.

_Shavit!_ Vader inwardly hissed. _Curse my wretched body!_

Due to his eternal need for a respirator, he was unable to perform the CPR that his son undoubtedly needed, and by the time he called the medics in it would be too late.

Darth Vader was about to have a raging Sith fit at his helplessness, but a familiar voice from his past spoke to him: _The Force you must use before all is lost._

With a few misgivings, he called the Force to him and used it to _pump_ the air back into Luke. He didn't know how he managed to do it, but somehow he managed.

For a few apprehensive seconds nothing happened, but then Luke started coughing horrendously. Luke's eyes opened painfully, widening at the sight of the enormous paw above him.

Softly, Vader questioned, "How are you feeling, Son?"

Luke didn't reply, he just shut his eyes and concentrated on reducing the pain. "Dead?" he managed to ask.

"Yes, it is," Vader replied, secretly enthralled that his son was still alive.

But Luke wasn't exactly ecstatic about his survival. He felt like a herd of banthas were ruthlessly ramming against his skull, and his sprained, broken, and cracked bones were complaining terribly. His bruises were also throbbing painfully, and he was about give in to the void that was relentlessly trying to suck him in.

Black dots danced in front of his eyes, and his head was spinning. The Force seemed to elude him, and Darth Vader's dark presence was clouding the little concentration he had left.

After looking him over, the Sith Lord decided that he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon...But if he didn't get help of some kind soon, then he _was_ going to the graveyard.

Uncertainly, Vader scooped up Luke into his arms gently. Luke moaned in pain at the movement and shifted slightly. Darth Vader slowly walked out of the room and down the hallways, erasing the memories of the few curious people that they passed had of them together.

Vader slowly laid his son on the floor. He wasn't allowed to help his son into a healing trance...But Jade was.

Distrustful of her as he was, he knew that she felt _something_ for his currently vulnerable son. Behind a block that hid his message from the Emperor, he sent through the Force: _Luke needs you._

_I'm coming,_ she sent back, a hint of concern in the brief contact.

With a last hidden but loving look at his son, Darth Vader left.

* * *

When Mara Jade arrived, Luke was breathing quickly, shaking, and sweating. He appeared to be in shock. She immediately bent down to his side and tried to calm him down. "Shh, shh. It'll be okay..." She sent a Force tendril to reassure him, and it helped a little bit.

"I'm going to put you in a healing trance," Mara's voice came to the Jedi distantly.

He gave a small affirmative nod, and she brought the Force about him, albeit a little unsurely. She had never attempted to put someone in a healing trance before.

The Tatooinian farmboy easily succumbed to the pain-free state that the trance provided.

* * *

Mara reported to her Master and, with unease, noted that Vader was standing nearby waiting for orders.

The Emperor spoke, "You will take Mara with you, Lord Vader. Once inside, you are to instruct her to rough young Skywalker up a little, to 'try to convince him to turn.' She will seem utterly shocked and appalled by the thought of having to do so. If it does not work, and I'm sure that it won't, then she is to 'sneak' back in later and sincerely apologize and try to regain his affection. Do you understand?"

Mara Jade and Darth Vader nodded in unison, though neither of them liked the plan. Both knew better than to argue with Palpatine.

"Good."


	10. Chapter Ten

A few hours later, Luke came out of his healing trance when he felt a slight tingling sensation on his cheeks. It turned out to be an invisible hand lightly slapping his face. "Uh?" he groggily murmured.

Then the pain hit.

He screamed.

"Your trance time is over, Son." Vader masked all feelings of regret (for willingly forcing his only son to suffer) and pity (of Luke's bad condition, which was caused mainly by Vader himself) with the Force. It wouldn't do to have the Emperor _or_ Luke to know how reluctant Darth Vader really was at carrying out the orders he was given.

Luke's hearing was partially impaired by the last roar that the Deh'th'tu'thouw had given out, but he caught the gist of what his father said. Teeth gritted, Luke desperately asked, "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"We will, once you have turned," Vader told him.

"I...can't." Luke's will wasn't broken yet.

"Jade, _you_ try to convince him," Vader suggested. _And if you dare do more damage to my son than is necessary, I _won't_ be responsible for the consequences..._

Luke glanced at Mara suspiciously, and she seemed shocked at the idea of causing Luke pain. She began to protest, "But I don't want—"

"Do it." Vader's tone left no room for argument.

Mara glanced at Luke apologetically, and he merely gave her a look that was somewhere between anger and helplessness. He closed his eyes and slowly used the Force to pull his consciousness back into the depths of his mind, a serene look on his face since most of the pain was now barely felt. He had only a vague awareness of his surroundings.

At a nod from Vader, the Emperor's Hand took a deep breath, then she gave Luke a sharp kick in the side.

She poised to do so again but paused as her conscience overcame her, and, with a sigh, she lowered her foot back down to the floor.

Mara could feel Vader's masked eyes boring into her questioningly, and, behind a strong Force shield that hid their conversation from Luke, she communicated with him. _This is _not_ going to work._

How so? he asked, surprised that the Emperor's Hand hadn't unquestioningly followed orders as was typical of her.

_Don't you understand? Pain is a _physical_ problem. Joining the Dark Side is a mental _decision_._

Luke's father saw the wisdom in her statement, but he wasn't quite sure how to act on it. _What do you propose that I do?_

Just talk_ to him!_ Mara told him exasperatedly. It was the sensible thing to do.

Luke was gradually withdrawing from his protective shell, distantly noticing their idleness.

Vader's mechanical breathing echoed throughout the room as Luke gained back his complete consciousness and his hearing slowly improved.

"Leave us, Jade," Vader ordered.

Mara nodded, bowed slightly, and left the two alone in the cell. She hoped this worked. Even though she had adopted a harsh attitude when she was around the captive Jedi, she didn't want Luke to go through any more pain. Despite their differences, she couldn't help but have qualms about his suffering. It was a weakness she should probably correct, but for the moment she would let it be. It had been too long since she'd last cared for someone's well-being, excluding the Emperor's...

"What are you gonna do? _Torture_ me again?" Luke snarled at his father. He really wanted the pain to come to an end, but he would have taken ten times that of what he was feeling if he could only see Han, Leia, Chewie, and the droids one last time...under better circumstances, of course.

When he had willingly gone to his father, he hadn't expected things to turn out the way they had. Everything was going wrong, and careening out of his control, as if events had been slightly altered and this was not the way it was supposed to turn out.

Vader didn't answer with words. He reached down for Luke's lightsaber and took it off his belt. He threw it lightly to its owner, who caught it unsurely, and then he took his own ruby saber into his dark gloved hands.

Luke Skywalker looked down at the saber handle, gingerly turning the cool metal around in his hands as he inspected it. If he tried hard enough and ignored the great pain in his arms and legs, he could strike Darth Vader down, he knew. But to do so he would have to give into the Dark Side...

And yet, if he _did_ resort to such a drastic measure, then he might be able to escape from his father's wretched flagship and go to his friends, who were probably worried about him...

...Most likely leading Palpatine to them in the process.

Luke sighed, wincing at the pain that the slight movement caused him. To give into the Dark Side in any way, shape, or form was to give it at least _some_ control over his life, and doing so would haunt him forever.

No, he couldn't give in. He needed to forge his will into durasteel in spite of the pain that plagued him. But perhaps there was another option available to him...

He threw the saber to the ground in finality. "I will not fight you, father. And you'll be forced to kill me."

Darth Vader knew that his son didn't want to die and was throwing down his weapon because he felt like he was left with no other choice. He warned the boy, "You are unwise to lower your defenses." That piece of advice was a good life lesson if only his son would heed it.

Luke shook his head minutely, staring at Darth Vader with decisiveness. He gave a confident grin that didn't convince the Sith Lord of its sincerity one bit. "Death will be my final adventure. Who am _I_ to stop it?"

This caused Vader to pause. Surely the boy wasn't inviting Death to his doorstep with Vader at its side...But if he _must_ murder his son...

Luke felt Vader's hesitation and decided to turn it on him. "Your thoughts betray you, Father. You can't bring yourself to kill me...I am your _son_. The Light still lurks deep within you; you know it does. You must let it dispel the Dark from your soul...Father, it is your _last_ hope..."

His son's desperate plea hit a little too close to home for Vader's taste. The Sith Lord's thoughts were spiraling out of control, and he tried to seek a way out. He reached out and lightly touched Luke's mind, sensing something there that he couldn't quite put his finger on...

"Give in to the Dark Side, Luke, and we will leave your companions alone..." Silence. "Your feelings for them are strong..." There was a nagging feeling at the back of Vader's mind...like he had figured out most of a puzzle that he hadn't known he'd been working on and only had a few pieces left to fit together. He continued on with his gut instinct, "Especially for..." Everything abruptly slid into place. "...Your sister...So, you have a twin sister..." This was indeed a quite a discovery...Perhaps _she_ would be Luke's final breaking point...

"Your feelings have now betrayed _her_ too." Behind his mask, Darth Vader frowned in contempt at the thought of his traitor of a teacher hiding his two children from him. He had a right to be told that his beloved Padmè had actually— No! He mustn't think about her. He forced the painful thoughts about his deceased wife to the back corners of his mind. She was dead, killed by that traitorous Kenobi. No amount of hoping would bring her back.

Slightly surprised that he hadn't thought of using Luke's companions against him before, Vader continued, "Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me, but now his failure is complete...If _you_ won't turn to the Dark Side, then perhaps _she_ will."

"No!" Within a second, Luke had jumped up to both feet, ignoring his shattered ankle and other various pains, switched on his lightsaber, and pointed the blade at Darth Vader's throat. With a strained, ragged voice that enunciated each word strenuously, Luke ordered, "Leave her _alone_!"

Vader tilted his helmeted head slightly, looking down at the green lightsaber that was held threateningly close to his neck. Perhaps it was _his_ destiny to die now. Maybe he would finally be released from this tortured body into the endless void that was the Force. He raised his head up high. "Do it, Luke."

Luke _was_ on the verge of slicing the deadly weapon through his father's neck, but there was some barely perceptible hesitation in his manner.

"Join us, and your sister will live. Kill me now, and refuse to join the Dark Side, and Palpatine will hunt down your sister, and she will die an _excruciating_ death." Vader knew this was a bit of a gamble. The Emperor didn't know Luke's sister's name, and simply the threat of her dying might cause Luke to slit Vader's throat without a second thought.

Luke's hand shook in indecision. He didn't want to kill his father, didn't want his sister to die, and didn't want to join the Dark Side. He raised confused eyes up to his father. "What would happen if I didn't kill you but refused to join the Dark Side?"

"I would find your sister, and she would not have a moment's rest until you turned."

Luke looked down at his lightsaber, the green light reflected in his eyes, mingling with his fear and anger. "What if I turned this on me?"

He removed the saber from its spot hovering beneath Vader's chin and placed the beam of light right in front of his heart.

Vader could feel the rise of fear in his chest. Surely his son wouldn't commit suicide. "I would find and turn your sister, and together we would avenge your death on the Rebel Alliance."

The now strangely calm Jedi brought the lightsaber slowly closer to his heart, looking at Vader with a hard gaze as he did so. Death would bring an end to all decision-making...

This was a crucial moment, Vader knew. The words he said now could affect the rest of their lives...Or could end them now. "The only way to save your sister and companions is to turn, Luke. Kill one of us, and they shall be killed as a result."

Luke's hand trembled, as his sereneness began to evaporate. "But if I turn, you will force me to kill them." His eyes shifted from side to side in a frenzy.

Vader shook his head, "If you become a Dark Jedi, we will first finish your training. It is true that you will have to help us exterminate any _remaining_ Jedi Knights as well as help squash rebellions. But you do _not_ have to kill your companions if you can get them out of the way and still accomplish your mission."

"_If_ I can get them out of the way?" Luke raised an eyebrow. Didn't look like much of a deal to him.

"We won't make you kill your companions, Son."

Luke's thumb twitched on the trigger switch, and several emotions passed across his face. Fear, anger, loss, love...

Darth Vader hated to see his son look so helpless.

It was a hardened Luke that finally lifted his head to stare his father in his helmeted face. Chin jutted out in defeat, he conceded, "I will join you, Father."

The Sith Lord smiled beneath his mask and placed his hand on Luke's shoulder. "You have made a wise decision, my son."


	11. Chapter Eleven

"I'm sure Luke's all right," Han tried to comfort the sobbing princess.

"I can't _feel_ him, and it's been almost a week, Han!" Leia snapped, instantly regretting doing so. "I'm sorry..."

Han took her into his arms, not quite sure what to say, so he settled with muttering meaningless reassurances.

After the Ewok celebration, Leia had holed up inside herself, and the only person she spoke to was Han. She hadn't said much, but she hoped he understood how much better his presence made her feel.

"I never knew how much Luke meant to you..." the smuggler trailed off.

Clinging to his chest, she whispered, "I love him..."

Han's eyes instantly widened, and he backed away from her slightly, holding his arms up. "Well, hey, listen...I—I understand...I'll just step out of the way—"

Leia blinked curiously at him, suddenly realizing the implications of what he was saying. "No," she quickly spoke. "It's not like that..."

"Then what _is_ it like?" Han made sure his voice wasn't as harsh as the raging emotions deep within his heart.

"He's my _brother_."

Oh. That explained just about everything, but the rogue was sincerely stunned nonetheless.

After a few moments, Han pulled Leia back so that he could look into her eyes. "Look, I didn't want to say anything before because I thought it might upset you, but there have been some rumors that the Emperor and Vader didn't board the Death Star..."

"So that means Luke's alive!" Leia's joy was short-lived. "But that means he's _still_ in the Emperor's claws..."

"Now, hold on. They're just _rumors_." Han didn't want her to be disappointed if they never saw her brother again. Right now, he was helping Leia cope with Luke's possible death. It hadn't quite sunk in for himself yet.

"Han, please ask your smuggler friends to be on the look-out for _anything_ concerning Luke's possible whereabouts!" Leia pleaded.

"I'm already on that. The rest is in...the Force's hands." Han still wasn't quite sure if he believed in the hocus pocus about some all-power energy field controlling destinies, but he added that last bit in hopes that Leia would gain some slight consolation from it.

"I just hope he's all right..."

* * *

Well, Luke was all right in the _physical_ sense, as he had just had an extensive bacta dip, but his emotions were still swirling around in confusion.

He was shaking incessantly after Vader had him taken out of the blue liquid-filled tank, and his father gave him a curious look.

Feeling like he'd betrayed his friends—even though he was doing this to _save_ them—Luke furrowed his brow sadly and lowered his gaze to the floor.

Giving a mental shrug, Vader led the young apprentice through a few winding halls to his new master.

They entered the Emperor's throne-room, where the tyrant was confidently seated. Palpatine was pleased that Luke had been brought to their side by blackmail rather than seduction. It made matters a lot more interesting.

The Dark Lord of the Sith bowed to Palpatine and remained in the same position, having not been told to rise.

When Luke did nothing, Darth Vader sent out a Force tendril to cause his son to bend his knee. "When admitted to the Emperor's presence, you must _always_ bow."

Luke scowled, shifting his angry blue eyes to the Emperor's flecked eyes, and he spoke sarcastically, "How low would you like me to go for you, Your _High_ness?"

"Luke—" Vader started warningly, but Palpatine cut him off.

"Leave him be for now. He shall learn soon enough that the absence of courtesy can have _dire_ consequences," the evil tyrant's mouth curved upwards in a malevolent smile that sent chills down Luke's spine.

The young man swallowed, and his eyes flickered around nervously. Being in the malicious Palpatine's presence made him regret his decision. If only he could get rid of the Emperor...

"Rise, Lord Vader." After the armored man did so, and after a perfectly timed pause that caused Luke's apprehension to build, Palpatine spoke, "You say that you will join us, and yet you show no desire in doing so. If you do not control that short temper of yours, then you will find yourself a victim of my unchained rage."

Luke's chin jutted out, and his eyes flashed, but he held his tongue.

The Emperor grinned sinisterly, "Good...Your hatred is growing...You can use it during your lesson of the finer points of saber dueling with your father."

Luke barely managed to suppress a groan. He didn't want to see another lightsaber ever again. What did the weapons have to do with being a Dark Jedi? He knew enough about sabers to write a novel about them.

Palpatine could sense Luke's unspoken question, but he didn't answer it.

Palpatine's reason for such lessons was that, like most reckless youths, the fair-headed young man's aggressive feelings were most easily brought out in battle. Luke was meant for the Dark Side, as he would find out soon enough.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Cold, covered eyes...Visible, angry features...

Strong, gloved hands...Clenched, tightly grasping fingers...

Booted feet lightly pacing across the floor...

Haggard gasps for air...Quickened, echoing breathing...

A flash of green...A bright spark of red...

A ruffle of black...A blurred somersaulting form...

These were all typical components in a lightsaber duel between the two male Skywalkers, one who claimed his name without a second thought, and one who denounced _his_ just as quickly.

Luke had been reluctant to battle at first, but after a little goading from Vader, he had attacked without warning.

Sweat beading on his forehead, the young man's sapphire eyes flashed, the green light from his waving lightsaber reflected in his eyes.

Even though Vader had expected Luke to put up quite a fight, he hadn't expected his son to give in to his anger as quickly as he had.

And indeed, the Dark Side flowed through the young male Skywalker easily and refreshingly, like a cool yet fiery liquid spreading throughout his body. Luke hadn't realized how much he'd been missing, having simply refused to turn without having any real knowledge of what it would be like if he did.

This new experience in willingly using the Dark Side offered a whole new realm of possibilities.

He'd thought lightsaber dueling was pretty easy before, and _that_ had been while using the Light Side.

How wrong he had been before.

The ease with which he was able to twist and turn like an agile sabercat, the swiftness that he'd suddenly gained that allowed him to block blows in a fast manner like never before, and the great strength which now possessed were all born from the Dark Side. He'd been a mere novice in fencing before, but now, he was the _master_.

What he'd once thought of as the "evil" side of the Force was much easier to attain and use than the _other_ side. His inward focus came to him quicker and was more pinpointed than the _Light_ Side allowed.

Yet, even as he was marveling over the incredibly minute degree of difficulty in employing the Dark Side, he couldn't help but feel like he was letting his friends down by giving in so easily.

But they were no longer a part of his life.

If he ever met them again there would be trouble, he knew. He just hoped they would stay away and not try anything foolish.

* * *

Darth Vader surveyed his son through his dark mask as his saber sparked with the impact against Luke's weapon and hummed aggressively. He could sense most of the inner turmoil that was taking place, but he knew that Luke's care in his friends was his undoing and that the boy was already sucked into the mystical black hole that was the Dark Side of the Force...

There was no hope for Vader's redemption left in the boy, and Luke did not want the last female Skywalker to be ensnared as he was. Thus, the only option available to Luke was to let go of his last shreds of faith and put all he had into the Dark Side, though he wasn't quite giving his all...Yet.

Vader knew that Luke would always have at least a glimmer of hope within him. There was no way of changing it...But they _could_ hide the glimmer beneath blankets of Dark teaching if they worked diligently and inconspicuously.

Luke had improved much since their saber duel in Bespin, and the Dark Side was merely amplifying his capabilities. Though Vader tried to keep _him_ dodging and on the defensive, the boy was doing a good job of remaining on the offensive and keeping the _Vader_ on his toes.

The power that emanated from his son almost overwhelmed Lord Vader, as well as the heat he could almost physically feel from the boy's anger and, though it felt strangely out of place, the slight chill of fear for his Rebel friends.

Vader lunged forward and tried to stab Luke in the shoulder, but his saber was hit to the side with so much force that the handle flew from his hands and the dead-man's switch kicked in, extinguishing the light blade. It was all the surprised Sith Lord could do to remain on his feet.

The not-quite-Jedi took the armored man's moment of being off-balance and lacking a lasersword to spring forward and point his green saber at the much taller Darth Vader.

Darth Vader's slightly-faster-than-normal breathing echoed throughout the room ominously, and he glanced down at the lethal weapon that was hovering under his chin. After a pause, Vader finally spoke, "Well done, Son. You have become incredibly skilled since our last meeting."

Breathing hard, Luke gave himself a moment to regain some of his wind, resisting the urge to raise the saber ever so slightly...

"You're...not so...bad...yourself," he panted. After Luke made the statement, he looked surprised at himself. He was complimenting Vader?

Nodding silently, Vader shifted his mask pointedly at the lightsaber. "Are you planning on using that? Or were you just getting comfortable?"

Luke just stood there, bewilderedly blinking at Vader's attempt at what seemed to be humor. He gave him a skeptical look and switched off his weapon, holding it out for his father to take.

Darth Vader hooked the lightsaber to his belt and rumbled, "That will be enough for today."


	13. Chapter Thirteen

As they tend to do, the days passed into weeks...

The normally chaotic galaxy's condition was, for once, quiet and mostly uneventful.

The Empire was in hiding, although Palpatine did leave a few Star Destroyers behind to protect Coruscant from invasion, and the Empire was slowly regaining strength after its terrible defeat. The Rebel Alliance was also in hiding and licking its wounds. Han hadn't heard anything from his smuggler contacts, and Leia was finally, albeit slowly, getting over her initial shock and horror at the thought of her brother being in Imperial clutches or...dead.

Mara Jade had been sent on several difficult covert missions, so she and Luke hadn't seen much of each other. Luke was reluctantly completing his training in the Dark Side, hoping that Leia and Han wouldn't do anything stupid since they would be held captive as well. As each day went by, his flickering hope of escape dimmed just a little more.

The Emperor didn't trust Luke enough to walk about on his own, so Luke was kept in a cell. It was a luxurious prison room, but even the impressive space and accommodations weren't enough to quell Luke's annoyances about the password that was needed to unlock the door.

On this particular day, Palpatine was going to send Luke to a minor tactical meeting, but for him to be of any help he would have to have some sort of rank. He wasn't quite ready to lord Luke, and it also might undermine Vader's power if there were _two_ Dark Lords. So, he decided to give him the rank of Grand Admiral.

Now, what to call the boy...

Palpatine knew that his minions would _not_ enjoy the thought of having Luke Skywalker, destroyer of the Death Star and Alliance commander, being amongst them, and he wasn't ready for Darth Vader to reveal that _he_ had a son, since his officers might think of that as a weakness...

He mulled over the thought of giving him a codename, but his officers would be suspicious of a newcomer in their midst, and the lack of recognition on Luke's face when they said his false name would be something they would automatically pounce on.

Fine.

They would stick with the name "Skywalker."

Let them think what they want. They wouldn't be able to act on their jealousy and suspicion unless they wished to incur _his_ wrath upon them.

* * *

Luke reluctantly followed his father into the meeting room. A bunch of khaki-uniformed officers sat at a smooth transparisteel table, upon which various caffeine-filled mugs were scattered.

He felt very out of place in his bright white Grand Admiral uniform; everyone else was wearing darker colors. All eyes turned towards him and Vader when they entered, and he watched several emotions play across their faces. Surprise, anger, fear...

After the introductions were made, a somber Imperial agent briefed them.

A Rebel transport ship was going to send supplies and weapons to Playtasia, a planet in Imperial territory that was being punished for disobedience. Playtasia was a primitive planet, so its failure in a delicate trading matter was being punished by preventing materials from being exported or imported from the planet. There was also a restriction on many of the materials that they _did_ have on-planet.

Ordinarily, the Empire would send a few well-equipped ships, blow the Rebels out of the sky, and be done with the whole matter.

Under the circumstances, however, that wasn't an option they wanted to consider, unless they had no other choice.

The Rebel transport was very dangerous and armed to the teeth, and it was piloted by an important Rebel general whose name the agent didn't give out. The general was supposed to meet with a group of native Playtasians that were planning on giving the Rebels information about the Empire's latest project, codename Starburst.

At this last, Luke threw a curious look at Darth Vader, but Vader showed no intention of commenting on it. A few of the officers nodded in recognition of the name.

The general was to be met by the Playtasians, who were going to escort him to a private area to talk. The general's crew was to stay on-board the ship and protect it. Rumor had it that they were hotshots with a blaster and just as skilled at using a ship's guns.

Their goal was to capture the general, exterminate the traitorous Playtasians, and take the ship into their custody, just in case it had important information such as the Rebels' location in its databanks. In eliminating the crew and Playtasians, they had to be careful; it would not be good if the Rebels and Playtasians got out a warning call to the Alliance.

An enthusiastic officer spoke, "I think we should send a team to follow the general and the Playtasians, then when he goes back to the ship have them kill those traitorous aliens. After the ship lifts off the planet, dispatch a group of TIE Fighters to disable the ship. Once it's disarmed and floating in space, we can pick it up and capture the general and take care of the crew."

Several sullen officers nodded in agreement. Luke had a better idea in mind, but wasn't about to voice it out loud. The Empire was cruel to limit supplies on an already needy world. _He_ didn't want to help them continue to do so.

Darth Vader stared pointedly at his son, sensing the boy's quiet disapproval of the officer's suggestion.

Luke felt Vader's eyes boring in to him, so he finally gave in to the silent battle. "I disagree." Heads turned towards him. Luke's suggestion went against his own beliefs of needless deaths, and he couldn't believe that he was actually telling his spur-of-the-moment idea to the Imperials. Even though he _really_ didn't want anyone to die, he _especially_ didn't want Leia in Vader's clutches.

"I think that we should have a team follow them, yes, but _then_ they should capture the general and...eliminate the Playtasians," it took all the strength he could muster to even _suggest_ killing anyone. "Then we could have an air force of TIE fighters disable the grounded ship, taking them by surprise. That will give...the Empire—" he couldn't bring himself to say 'us,' "—an advantage. Then a group of commandos could surround the ship, blast open the door, and take care of the Rebels. If you instead waited until the general was on the ship in space, then there's always the possibility that he'll commit suicide instead of being caught, and then you'll be left with just the ship."

A red-faced Imperial on the right side of the table exploded, "And who are _you_ to be giving us orders? Oh, I _forgot_, you're 'Grand Admiral Skywalker!'" he sneered. "The Skywalker that _claims_ to have destroyed the Death Star. You're just a pathetic green youth who somehow holds rank over us despite your apparent lack of talent with anything more complicated than a toothbrush." Luke could feel his face flushing, and his anger started to rise to the surface. The man spat out a stream of Huttese curses, then he smirked and said in Basic, "You're nothing but a slimy, worthless piece of rancor p—"

Luke felt he had taken enough from this man, and he knew _exactly_ what his father privately wanted him to do to the cursing maniac...

And to be honest, he would do it with pleasure.

Luke raised his hand up threateningly, his eyes flashing, and an invisible hand settled itself around the man's throat, squeezing tightly.

The angry Imperial tried in vain to keep his face expressionless for the first few seconds of Luke's strangle-hold, but then he could no longer take it, and he furiously clawed at his collar, his face turning scarlet. He started gurgling in desperation, and his eyes started bulging.

Luke tried to relax his Force grip, figuring that the man had learned his lesson, but a little evil voice tried to compel him, _Hold on just a little bit longer...You must exact __full__vengeance on that ____incompetent__human._

He complied with the voice's wishes.

After a final gasp, the brown-haired officer slumped onto the table, a look of horror and fear frozen on his still face. Luke reached out to the Force to touch his presence.

He was dead.

Luke was ambivalent. Part of him was shocked that he'd pointlessly _killed_ someone in cold blood, but another part of him was filled with excitement at the thought of the power that had surged through him like an electric current. His darker side won out. The man deserved to be punished for talking to him like a subordinate. He didn't want to seem weak in _any_ form, so he coldly stated, "You mess with me, you mess with the Dark Side."

He swept his gaze across the alarmed and uneasily shifting Imperials, "Anyone disagree?"

Quickly, everyone shook their heads, murmurs spreading throughout the room. _He has __Vader's__power!_ was the main thought that coursed through their minds.

Lifting his head up and nodding in satisfaction, Luke smiled grimly. "Good. Anyone have any other suggestions?"

With the exception of Luke and Vader, everyone in the room slowly shook their heads from side to side simultaneously. _They_ didn't want to face his anger, too.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

When the meeting was adjourned, Luke quietly followed his father through the halls. After a group of Stormtroopers passed them, Vader spoke, "I am proud of you, Son. You have finally begun to understand the Dark Side and use the Force's power the way it was meant to be used."

Now that the meeting was over, Luke was having misgivings, and he stopped and looked at his father with panic in his eyes. "But I _killed_ a man...Just because he called me a few names! If I killed everyone who called me a name that I didn't like—"

Vader cut in, "Radtl was a fool that should have been killed long ago. The only reason he's lasted as long as he has is because his parents made generous donations to the Empire...Something the Emperor enjoyed."

Luke's eyes widened, but before he could speak Vader answered his question, "He will not mind the man's death. He was planning on having him killed soon anyway."

"That still doesn't make it right!" Luke exclaimed.

Darth Vader gave him a cold stare. "Life is not fair. You must kill or be killed. That is how it goes."

"That's how _you_ think it goes," Luke mumbled.

"You showed no qualms about destroying the Death Star."

He should have known that that would be thrown in his face. "That was different," Luke defended.

"How?"

"The Death Star would have killed millions of people if I hadn't destroyed it, never mind that it already did with Alderaan."

"But by doing so _you_ killed millions instead of it, making you no better than Tarkin, incompetent fool that he was."

Luke opened his mouth to reply but closed it. Vader was right.

Who was he to have a code of ethics? If he continued to live by his morals, then he would not survive much longer. With age came knowledge, and if he remained stubborn, then he would not be able to move on and embrace that knowledge. The Dark Side brought power, which would strengthen him. Only with true power could he hope to unite the galaxy. That was the problem with the Rebellion. It led with false hopes. The Empire used the power that was available to try to bring the inhabitants of the galaxy together.

The Light Side was powered by false, weak emotions. The Dark Side took advantage of the strong emotions that kept one truly living.

The Dark Side was not to be thought of as an aggressive state of the Force, but as a protective state. The Force was made by living things, and only the Dark Side seemed to be really _alive_.

Was it so wrong to use the power that was there for a Jedi, Light _or_ Dark, to use?

His teachings went against this way of thinking, but then he considered his teachers. Ben, who had lied to him about his father, and Yoda, who neglected to reveal that he had a sister until _after_ Vader said that he was Luke's father.

Only Darth Vader had spoken the truth. And if Vader weren't going to tell him something, at least he wouldn't _lie_ to him.

_Luke! This way of thinking must be stopped before all is lost!_ a voice seemed to tug at him.

But he ignored it. His mind was made up.

"You're right, Father. I'm sorry. It's just hard for me to let go of what I've been taught."

And it was a changed Luke that followed his father to the Emperor.

* * *

"So, young Skywalker, you have finally decided to _truly _turn. I always knew you were intelligent."

Luke remained bowed, silently seething. He didn't like the Emperor, and he was sure that his father wasn't exactly overjoyed at the thought of the tyrant controlling them. He wondered why his father hadn't overthrown him already...

But the Emperor was oblivious to these rebellious feelings, as Luke's thoughts were concealed by a powerful Dark barrier.

"Yes, my master."

Palpatine gave an evil grin. "Since you have behaved so well, I have allowed Jade a few days of freetime. I understand that you are..._friends_," the last word was said knowingly. He _knew_ that they were more than just friends. "I am sure you would like to spend a little more time together. You are to be moved to new quarters, and she shall drop by later. You may have the day off."

"Thank you, my master."

"You are dismissed," the Emperor waved them away.

After they were out of hearing distance, Mara Jade stepped out from her well-concealed hiding spot in the shadows.

"You are to still stick with seduction. Should he ever change his mind and choose to rebel, we shall need something to hold against him. A female that he is in love with would be the perfect tool. And who better to do it than my well-groomed Hand?" Palpatine smiled at her sickeningly. He had felt a tinge of the rogue feelings that were at the back of Luke's mind, and he knew that they could be detrimental to his plans.

Mara nodded. She didn't like the thought of being just a pawn in his game...But that was what she was here for. She wasn't meant to feel emotions or have an opinion. She was simply supposed to carry out Palpatine's orders without question.

Then why did she feel like she deserved more?


	15. Chapter Fifteen

The doorchime buzzed persistently, and Luke called out for what felt like the two-hundredth time, "Hold on!"

Luke had been getting out of the shower when the doorbell had rang. He had called out to whoever it was to wait a minute, and then he had wrapped a towel around his waist. He could have used the Force to find out who it was, but he'd had enough of unexplainable powers for one day. Then Luke had rubbed a different towel against his hair to dry it, but the person behind the door wasn't planning on waiting that long.

Muttering obscenities about the annoying nature of the doorchime, he slapped the door button and answered the door with a bare torso.

"Skywalk—" Mara began, cutting off as she saw Luke's naked chest. There were a few awkward moments in which she stared at him and the clueless farmboy merely looked at her curiously. She finally managed, "Did I come at a bad time?"

He was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the way she was looking at him—she looked almost as if she were a hungry predator. "I just got out of the shower. Give me a minute to get dressed."

The Emperor's Hand nodded, and he disappeared into what she assumed was his room.

While he was gone, Mara tried to get her bearings back, and she surveyed Luke's new quarters.

Various types of artwork were scattered throughout the room. A quaint kitchenette was off to the side, near his small dining table, and his living room furniture were all a delicate blue. She sat down on the couch then sighed in pleasure. The soft material that the couch was made of was firm but yielding, a material she felt like she could just melt into.

Luke finally exited his room and came out in black pants and a tight black shirt that revealed hints of the muscular chest that Mara had plainly seen moments before. He sat down beside her and, for lack of anything better to say, asked, "How have you been?"

Mara shrugged. "Palpatine's had me running errands."

"What kind of errands?"

The Emperor's Hand looked Luke Skywalker in the eyes. "The kind that your sister wouldn't ask _you_ to do in a million years."

Luke winced at the mention of his sister. He preferred not to think about her. He remained silent, so Mara picked up the conversation, "Pretty nice place you have here."

Luke nodded in agreement, "A lot better than a prison cell."

Mara was slightly annoyed. "Well, if you'd given in earlier, you wouldn't have had to worry about being in a prison cell."

"This coming from the person who was given no choice in how to live her life," Luke muttered.

"What was that?" Mara snapped, her eyes flashing.

Luke held his hands up and replied quickly, "Nothing."

Mara Jade was ready to tear him from limb to limb, but, as always, she put her duty first. And her duty was currently to remain on Skywalker's _good_ side...Ripping his arms and legs off would not help her with that.

She settled with giving him a piercing glare, and she was satisfied when he averted his eyes to the ground. "You been kept busy, too?"

Luke nodded. "Training mostly."

"Dark?"

"Yep."

Quiet ensued, and Mara inwardly swore to herself. She'd never had problems in finding things to talk about when she was on one of her undercover missions. What made now so different?

_Because you're feeling something that you've never felt before,_ a little voice offered her.

Mara snorted, and Luke looked at her curiously. She sifted through her mind and found an excuse. "I didn't eat lunch. I think I'm gonna go—"

Luke interrupted her. "I can fix you something here. It's almost dinner time anyway."

She gave him a skeptical glance, "You can cook?"

He put on a defensive tone. "Yes. And I'm pretty good at it if I do say so myself."

"Somehow, I don't see a farmboy as having extraordinary culinary skills."

"I learned a little here and there from different people...My aunt taught me a little, and one of the boys at Yavin and Hoth was a chef before he joined the Alliance."

"_Ri-ight_." She crossed her arms. "Just remember, I don't like my food burnt to a crisp."

Skywalker lifted an eyebrow. "But that takes out most of my best recipes!"

"Too bad."

Luke sighed in mock-submission. "Fine. I'll be sure not to overcook."

"What are you making, anyway?" Mara Jade questioned. She had burrowed her back deeper into the couch and appeared to be quite comfortable.

Luke stood up, grinning mischievously. "It's a surprise."

"I don't like surprises," she frowned. He walked over to the kitchenette and started bringing out the appropriate cooking tools.

"Too bad."

Mara gave an angry _hmph_ and turned around to see if she could recognize what the utensils he had out were for making.

She had no luck. The Emperor's Hand hadn't had the time to learn how to cook a decent meal. She had merely the skills to cook an edible meal in the event that she was stranded on a planet...Nothing that she would eat if she had a choice. So, guessing was not a true option.

Mara contemplated spying on him to figure out, but she let it rest. She'd had too few good surprises in her life.

Besides, it wasn't like he was planning on killing her. He was just going to ebb her hunger, and there was nothing wrong with that. She really needed to loosen up. Skywalker was _not_ a threat to her.

Mara contented herself with turning on the holovid and catching up with the latest news. Little was going on in the galaxy. The worst thing that had happened lately was the heart attack of some millionaire.

Time flew, and before she knew it some delicious-smelling scents were wafting in her direction. She took an appreciative sniff and turned around. "Mmm, that smells good."

"Wait till you taste it," Luke smiled at her.

"Is it almost ready?" she inquired.

"In a minute."

"But I can't wait that long!" Mara huffed.

"It'll be worth it," Luke reassured her.

"It had better," Mara mumbled, crossing her arms.

Luke merely chuckled and continued with his dinner preparations.

A few minutes more, and it was done. But not swiftly enough to please Mara.

Then again, pleasing Mara was an impossible task in itself.

After Luke told her she could do so, a loudly complaining Mara Jade sat down at the table, anxiously waiting for her meal to be placed in front of her. Before he did so, Luke asked her, "What kind of drink do you want?"

Mara considered, "Hmm...How about some Alderaanian wine?"

"All right." It took him a few seconds to prepare their drinks, then he set two wine glasses down.

She surveyed his clear liquid and questioned, "What're you having?"

He grinned. "Water."

Mara lifted an eyebrow. "My, don't _you_ like to live on the edge?"

"Hey, I'm the son of Darth Vader. Isn't that enough?"

She shrugged. "Whatever you say. Now, where's the food?"

"Impatient are you?" Luke asked in a strange voice that was remotely similar to the deceased Yoda's.

"Who's asking, Luke Skywalker, or the demon that just possessed him?"

Luke laughed as he set down their plates, and then he took his seat across from his companion. She gazed down unsurely at her food. "It _looks_ edible...But looks can be deceiving."

"This time, your eyes tell the truth."

"What is it?"

"Try it first."

Mara took a hesitant bite, then a look of blissful pleasure crossed her face. "Mmm. Not bad for a farmboy."

Luke smiled and took a bite of his own. He nodded, "Yeah, it's all right."

"'All right?' I haven't had anything this good since..." Mara thought of the time she'd been out with a traitorous admiral at one of Coruscant's finest restaurants...But being with him had filled her with disgust, so her appetite had been ruined, and she hadn't got too appreciate the meal. She finished: "—since never...What is it?"

Luke gave her a mysterious look. "My little secret."

She slitted her eyes. "I don't like secrets either."

Luke looked at her. "You don't like much, do you?"

Mara's only reply was to take another bite. She reminded herself,_ Focus on your mission, Jade. Being nice is _not_ a bad thing with a naive farmboy, whether _you_ like it or not._

The rest of the meal consisted mostly of small talk, and afterwards, they moved to the couch.

Mara smiled. "That was delicious."

Skywalker grinned. "Thanks."

"It's not often that I get a real meal."

"Then I guess you should visit more often," he grinned, and his blue eyes pleaded with her to agree.

She smiled back. "I guess so."

There was a moment of silence, during which the two merely gazed into each others' eyes. Luke slowly brought his hand up to her cheek, lightly caressing it with his fingers. He tentatively pulled her head down to his, and their lips met.

The best word to describe the incredible feelings that coursed through the both of them is 'electric.' It was as if an invisible current had abruptly shot a dozen emotions into them in order to ruthlessly assault their senses and leave the two momentarily vulnerable.

For a split second, both of their barriers were down, and both felt a myriad of emotions from the other.

Their eyes—which were windows to their souls—met, and deep inside both of them a few new adult feelings rose...and not all of them had to do with lust.

Mara's mental blocks were the first to shoot up, and an unsure but partially angry expression crossed her face.

Luke, a bit confused from the mixed signals he'd gotten from Mara's ambivalent mind, also brought his barriers back into place. He was privately glad that the Emperor had apparently not sensed his moment of weakness.

Mara stood up, a womprat-in-the-headlights look on her face. Emotions running wild, she muttered with shaky urgency, "I have to go."

And with that last statement, the Emperor's Hand disappeared out the door.

Luke rested his head on his hand and sighed. "Great."


	16. Chapter Sixteen

The next day Mara didn't show up.

She didn't show up the next day either...

After a week had passed, Luke began to become concerned. When he asked his father about it, the Sith Lord had merely told him that she had asked the Emperor to allow her to return to her old routine. After he had inquired further, Vader had told him that she was sending supplies to a planet in Imperial territory that Rebels were blockading. Luke had expressed his skepticism at her doing so, and Vader had told him that she was desperate to get away and that the blockade mission was the only mission the Emperor had available for her.

Luke had tried reaching out to Mara through the Force, but he had been violently pushed away.

Then, he had been forced to reluctantly accept that she wasn't having anything to do with him.

The two Imperial leaders were still trying to get himself to pour his whole self into the Dark Side, but Luke's opinion of using the more aggressive side of the Force changed as often as Leia's hairstyles.

* * *

One day, as Luke was pulling on his boot, he felt a brief flash of pain from Mara. He hurriedly used the Force to try to figure out what happened to her, but he was merely greeted by a void that had replaced the place where her brilliant presence had used to shine.

He felt himself about to panic, but with great effort he managed to calm himself. It was best not to jump to conclusions.

He would go ask the Emperor.

After putting his remaining boot on, he decided to skip breakfast and go straight to Palpatine.

* * *

The Emperor's head was lifted when Luke entered, as if he were expecting the youth to come to him.

"My master," Luke bowed his head. He didn't like showing respect to this fiend, but he knew what the consequences would be if he didn't.

"Young Skywalker," the ruler merely stated.

Luke could sense that Palpatine wanted him to speak his mind, so he did. "I have come to inquire of Jade's fate," he said calmly, trying to make his relationship with her seem impersonal.

But the Emperor knew better. "Ah, yes, my _Hand_." The title was said with hidden distaste. Palpatine had been very displeased when the girl had come to him and practically begged to be given a mission, claiming that she would continue trying to seduce Skywalker if she could just have a small break. But Palpatine had other plans.

The tyrant lowered his head sadly. "I'm afraid she is no longer among us." He could feel the shock and distrust radiating from Luke, but the emotions were abruptly cut off.

Eyes narrowed, the boy demanded, "What happened to her?"

Palpatine considered reprimanding Skywalker for his disrespectful demeanor, but then he decided that it could only play into his hand. "Young Jade was quite a pilot, but even the best of pilots can fall when faced with overwhelming odds." He paused for effect. "Your Rebellion ambushed her. She took out quite a few of them, of course. But she was not immortal..." the Emperor trailed off, making sure to place a sorrowful look on his face.

Denial was the first impulse that came to Luke, denial that the Rebellion would actually stop a helpless planet from getting supplies and denial that Mara was dead.

Uncertainty came close on Denial's heels. Was Mara really dead? Had the Rebel Alliance's morals changed?

Following Uncertainty was The-Need-For-Proof, proof that the Rebellion would do something so cruel and proof that Mara was no longer alive.

Palpatine gleefully watched the emotions cross the farmboy's face, patiently waiting for his acceptance.

Proof. He _needed_ proof. Luke took in a deep breath to calm down. _Don't jump to conclusions,_ the youth reminded himself.

Luke Skywalker closed his eyes and reached out to the Force, searching relentlessly for Mara's life-force. He could sense alien presences...a few auras that seemed vaguely familiar...Then he felt his sister's presence and recoiled from her as if stung. She was worried about him. He inwardly cursed his carelessness, hoping that she hadn't felt him. It was best if she believed him dead. He quickly put up a mental block. She mustn't find him.

He continued his mental journey through the galaxy, carefully avoiding the area where Leia was. Mara wouldn't be near her, he knew.

But, try as he might, he couldn't sense Mara...And the haunting memory of that spark of pain from her still lingered persistently...

With a last, brief mind scan he gave up. Her feisty presence was nowhere to be found.

His confused blue eyes lifted up to meet the Emperor's orange-flecked eyes, a silent question in them.

_It _is_ true,_ Palpatine's eyes seemed to answer.

"No!" Luke whispered loudly, suddenly feeling like the walls were closing on him. Despite Mara's harsh attitude, she had been the only _real _comfort in his coerced situation. And now she was gone.

Mara Jade had been like a friend to him, someone who had brought him back to reality. She was intelligent, had a sharp wit...There were many things he would have liked to learn about her...Given time, he was sure that she would open up to him.

But now that opportunity was no longer available to him.

And to think, that he might even lo—

No! He couldn't afford to care for his enemy.

But that didn't change the fact that he felt _something_ for her.

And yet...

What if Mara and the Empire weren't really the enemy?

After all, she'd been killed by rebels on what was basically a harmless mission...

What if _he_ were meant to be on the Imperial side?

That disturbing thought was shoved to the back of his mind as Denial came back and took its place.

It couldn't be true! She _had_ to be alive!

A panicked expression on his face, Luke's eyes moved unsurely from side to side. Time. He needed _time_. Time to think. Without a further word, Luke spun around and fled from the room.

Once the youth was out of the room, Palpatine let out an evil cackle. Things were falling into place...As they always did when he orchestrated their fall.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Leia was pacing back and forth in frustration. She hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in quite a while, and the bags under her eyes emphasized that fact. Han grabbed her shoulders gently but firmly, giving her a stern stare. He had tried to force the fact that Luke was close to him too into the back corners of his mind. He had to be strong for Leia. "Princess, you need to calm down. Your worrying yourself to death isn't going to bring Luke back any sooner."

"But—" Leia was interrupted by Han.

"No but's," he tried a smile, but it turned into a concerned frown. The Princess had suddenly gone rigid. "Leia? What's wrong?" The smuggler tried lightly shaking her to get her to snap out of it.

Leia remained still, her eyes tightly closed and her brow furrowed in concentration. After a few moments of confusion in which the poor smuggler wasn't sure whether he should call the medics or smack her on the head, Han noted with relief that she stopped whatever she was doing with a loud gasp.

"What is it?" Han asked softly. Whatever it was certainly didn't look good to him.

"Luke. I felt Luke!" Leia was excited. Han raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Through the Force—I _sensed_ him."

"Don't tell me _you're_ into that hocus-pocus now too," the smuggler sighed. That was just what he needed. _Two _wizards.

That barb earned him a hard jab in the ribs. "We're twins," Leia said patiently. "Of _course_ I can use the Force if he can."

"Twins? Sounds like double the trouble to me," Han smirked. Knowing that the two were twins offered a whole new realm of joke possibilities.

The princess glared at him, which was the result he wanted, but then her expression turned to that of hurt and confusion as her thoughts went back to her brother. "But I couldn't find out where he was...He pushed me away, and then he blocked me out before I could find out his location..."

"I'm sure Luke had a logical reason—" Han was cut off by the adamant princess.

"Why wouldn't he want us to know where he was? Why didn't he contact me through the Force?" Leia was _beginning_ to get worked up.

"Calm down, Your Worshipfulness," Han smiled in an attempt to get her to cheer up, but his nickname for her brought no reaction, and his smile dimmed when he saw the unhappy look on her face. "What did you sense from the kid?"

Leia started to speak, but then she paused momentarily in thought. "It was...weird. There was something that he wasn't accepting, but a part of him was sad about the _possibility_ of its being true...And he was kind of angry...He felt helpless and..." the young woman shook her head to try to clear it. "I can't exactly explain it."

Han put his arm on shoulder to comfort her, about to speak, but it was at this moment that an annoyed Chewbacca came in, complaining loudly about Han, his ancestors, and what occupied them in their free time.

The smuggler-turned-Alliance-general ignored the bit about his ancestors and gave the Wookiee a hurt expression. "I'm _irresponsible_?"

Chewie huffed something. "My comlink?" Han looked down. He made a quick inspection, then he looked sheepish. "Oops. I must have accidentally turned it off."

The towering Wookiee woofed in frustration, and Han was surprised at what he had to say. "It isn't _working_? Sith!" The smuggler ran a hand through his hair to cool his temper and then calmly suggested, "Have _Lando_ replace it. _He's_ the one that broke it off!"

Chewie barked another question. "I don't _know_ where he is! Ask Wedge." Han grumbled, "Last I heard they were celebrating with another bottle of Corellian ale..."

The Wookiee laughed at the slighted tone that the brown-haired man had. Then he roared another inquiry, and Han replied with a strained tone, "No. They _didn't_ invite me, and no, I'm _not_ mad about it..." He took a deep breath. "Can't you see I'm _busy_? Scram, you big hairy lug!"

But before Chewie left, he put a reassuring paw on Leia's shoulder and softly gargled something.

Though Leia wasn't very fluent in Wookiee, she caught the gist of it. She gave the Wookiee a half-smile, "Thanks, Chewie."

Chewbacca arfed and quietly left the room.

Han moved towards the couch and sat down, guiding Leia over with him. "Turn," he instructed simply.

The princess complied, and he started massaging the knots out of her shoulders.

Leia closed her eyes. "Ooh, that feels good."

Han grinned and reprimanded her, "You need to relax more."

The smuggler's comment struck a sensitive cord, and Leia turned to face him, "How am I supposed to _relax_ when my brother is in Imperial hands?" Han flinched, he hadn't meant to set her off. Leia's anger gently faded away, replaced by sorrow, which for Han was worse than her anger. At least he knew how to handle her anger.

Han grabbed her hand and lightly stroked the top of it with his thumb to console her.

Leia continued sadly, "And there's nothing I can do..."

"You're wrong about that," an unfamiliar female voice stated matter-of-factly behind the two.

They instantly swerved around and discovered that the voice belonged to a cloaked humanoid standing confidently behind the couch, palms outward to show that she was unarmed.

"How'd you'd get in h—" Han started, but he was cut off by the princess, who demanded, "Who are you?"


	18. Chapter Eighteen

The woman was in silent thought for a moment, then she smiled gently beneath her hood. "You may call me...Padmé."

Leia tilted her head in contemplation. The name sounded familiar, as if she had heard it in a dream or perhaps long ago...

After his initial surprise at having an unexpected "visitor" had worn off, Han's blaster was up and pointed accusingly. He repeated his earlier question and coupled it with a new one: "How did you get in here, and what do you want?"

Padmé sighed. The man could have been a lot more diplomatic during his questioning...And her daughter could have done so much better than him...

Those words echoed what she had heard many a time in her past, causing her to feel a pang of guilt for being so quick to judge. She should know better.

Padmé Naberrie had been in hiding from the man she had once called her husband for a long time, ever since she had faked her death with the help of Obi-Wan and Yoda. She had heard word of her son's capture, and, despite a certain Gungan's protests, she had decided to step forward and help. She had left her loyal companion behind in her ship, sensing that it was better she see them alone first.

Though she was no longer queen of the Naboo, she still had many loyal sources. It was through these contacts that she had found the location of her son and husband. She had debated with Jar Jar on whether to reveal her real identity to her daughter, but they had finally decided that she would be met with a lot of skepticism at first, and she didn't think she could handle that. Perhaps she would tell them on the ship, since they wouldn't be able to have her automatically shipped to a prison camp or insane asylum.

Padmé had _borrowed _a small Imperial shuttle and confiscated a few uniforms, as well as some Stormtrooper armor, from the ship's occupants. Hopefully, when the two Rebels heard what she had to say, they wouldn't automatically turn her down.

She answered simply, "I want to help."

"I'll believe that when I see some proof, sister," Han snarled. He didn't like the thought that she could sneak in as easily as she did.

Padmé sighed. "Do you want assistance in finding Luke Skywalker or not?"

That got the smuggler's attention. Han straightened but remained suspicious nevertheless. "How do we know you're not lying?"

"You don't," the ex-queen stated truthfully. "But do you have any other choice?"

Leia stepped forward a little, giving a sidewards glance towards Han. "Do you know where he is? What's the price?"

"Yes, I have his location." Padmé was reluctant to address her daughter's question about payment. She didn't _want_ to be paid, but if she said so, then they would be even more suspicious. "We shall discuss the price in my ship."

The smuggler pointed his finger at her. "Uh uh. I ain't ridin' in no ship but mine."

Padmé Naberrie fixed him with a cold stare that he could not see because of the hood that covered her face. But he _could_ feel it. "Then I suggest you stay here, Solo. To be honest, the ship isn't really _mine_, I just borrowed it from a few careless Imperials and had it modified...I'm sure you understand." _This Han Solo sure has a knack for bringing out the worst in people,_ Padmé thought. She didn't want to seem heartless, but the smuggler had practically asked for it.

He opened his mouth to say something, then he thought better of it.

"Do you have a rescue plan?" the Alderaanian princess asked.

"Now what kind of woman would I be without a rescue plan?"

* * *

As Padmé lifted the Imperial shuttle, _Raalian_, off the planet, she heard Han grumble, "I still don't see why we can't bring Chewie."

Though his complaint wasn't meant for her ears, Padmé answered anyway, "I told you, Captain Solo, a single Wookiee prisoner is enough to make any Imperial officer suspicious. News of what you did on the first Death Star spread like wildfire. One prisoner is enough."

"Wait a minute," Han stated. "One prisoner?"

Padmé feigned confusion, "Yes, didn't I—" she stopped mid-sentence. "I haven't told you of our disguises yet, have I?" She turned slightly, and both shook their heads. She turned back to the ship's controls and flicked the hyperspace lever. "Leia Organa and I are both going to wear Stormtrooper armor, which I've had modified to fit our smaller statures without changing the actual size. The helmets have voice-modifiers in them as a precaution, since female Stormtroopers would raise suspicion. You, young man," she looked at Han, "—are to wear an Imperial uniform that I've acquired, and we will trim your hair to meet Imperial standards, as well as dye it."

Han's eyes widened. "But—"

"To get even remotely near Skywalker, we shall have to carry out this charade to the fullest."

The smuggler slumped, then straightened as a thought occurred to him. "Who's the prisoner?"

She gave a brief glance to her daughter, whose eyes were closed in concentration, a look that she had seen on Anakin when he was contacting Obi-Wan through the Force. She mentally flung aside the name Anakin. Her husband was gone, and in his place was the beast Darth Vader. _Is Leia trying to find Luke?_ Padmé wondered. After a moment, she replied to Han's question, "My faithful companion, Jar Jar Binks."

Upon hearing the not-so-subtle codephrase that they had worked out, the Gungan popped out of the back of the ship and promptly fell flat on his face. He moved his long ears out of his face and gave the two startled passengers a sheepish grin.

"Mesa JaJa Binks," the rubbery amphibian offered with an embarrassed smile as he picked himself up off the floor.

"You have _got_ to be kidding," Han gaped. "That's not a prisoner! That's...That's...an overgrown palottbunnie! Why in space would Imperials believe _that_ was worth taking captive?"

"How wude!" Jar Jar exclaimed, sticking out his tongue and blowing a raspberry at the smuggler.

"I'll show you rude, you little—" Han was rising out of his chair when a stern hand from Leia forced him to sit back down.

"Han," she stated calmly. "Leave the poor creature alone. You're going to give it a complex."

"A complex?" Han shouted at the same time Jar Jar gurgled, "Compleck?"

Padmé laughed. "Calm down, you two before you both have a nervous breakdown."

Jar Jar peered at Han. The years had darkened the Jar Jar's skin, and the gangly Gungan she had met many years ago had gained a little weight with age. "Okeyday, Sena—" Binks cut himself off with something between a cough and a gargle, "—ahm, Missy Padmé."

This time it was Solo's turn to peer through slitted eyes. Padmé cleared her throat and received Han and Leia's attention. _It's now or never,_ she told herself. "I'm sure you've been wondering a bit at my identity and the reason I'm trying to help you." Taking a deep breath, she pulled her hood down, watching their faces.

Han merely looked at her blankly, but in Leia's eyes sparked an almost-recognition. She wasn't as young as she used to be, but her beauty was still intact. She still had qualms about whether she should tell Leia about how their relation or not, so it was best for her to do it now before she lost the nerve. "I go by the simple name of Padmé among those that I do not know, but I used to be known as...Queen Amidala of the Naboo." Han was instantly skeptical—why would a queen from a planet he'd never heard of want to help them?—and Leia seemed to be recalling words from her past. "You probably don't remember me, Leia...I was only allowed on Alderaan for a short while before Obi-Wan ushered me and Jar Jar away to safety. I assume Bail told you that I was dead."

The Gungan nodded in confirmation. "Yousa jus' a wil' bitty ting den!"

Leia's facial expression changed as she searched her feelings and realized the truth in what the woman had said. Leia slowly rose and stepped forward. "Is it really you?"

Padmé nodded and smiled gently, her eyes revealing love, sadness, regret, pain...and loneliness. Leia wished she could wipe away all the sorrow that Vader had caused her. She enveloped her mother in a comforting hug to let her know that she was there for her.

Padmé couldn't help it—tears of longing and happiness fell in a silent stream down her face.

Han awkwardly remained in his seat, unsure of what was going on. He threw a glare at the Gungan for good measure, and Jar Jar swung his head around and _hmphed_, his ears incidentally smacking the smuggler in the face.

"Ow!" Han exclaimed.

Leia laughed and slowly pulled back from her embrace. "I remember those big ears, too, distantly..."

"Yes," Padmé smiled, her eyes shimmering. "He'd hang his ears down over you, and you would grab them in your little bitty fists..."

Han grumbled a few Huttese curses—while Padmé reminisced—that made Jar Jar tilt his head. "Mesa no knowin' what yousa sayin', but mesa no liken it."

Ignoring him, Solo demanded, "What's going on?"

Padmé turned away to dab at her face and regain her composure, while Leia answered, "Han, this is my mother."

"Your _mother_?" Han was incredulous.

"Yes, Han. And I would advise you to be nice to her."

"So, how did you find out where the Imps are?" Han inquired, still suspicious.

Padmé smiled sweetly. "You're not the only one with sources, young Captain of the _Bria_. Oh, my apologies, Captain of the _Falcon_."

Han paled at the mention of his traitorous ex-girlfriend, and instantly interested himself in his hands. Leia, however, instantly pounced on the subject: "Bria?"

Figuring that her prospective son-in-law had been tortured enough, Padmé changed the subject. "I'm scared for him, Leia." Her daughter nodded. So was she. "I'm sure Luke is a strong young man, but there's only so much that one person can take from...Darth Vader, " Padmé took a breath, "—and the Emperor's combined efforts." Every time that Padmé heard or said the name Darth Vader, she wanted to curl up and die. The only thing that had kept her going through the years was the thought of her children. Well, Jar Jar Binks' enthusiasm and constant unpurposeful comedy routine had helped matters a bit.

"You think they're trying to turn him?" Leia looked in her mother's eyes for an honest answer.

Padmé nodded. "And I'm not sure how long he can hold out."


	19. Chapter Nineteen

Luke paced.

His emotions were a maelstrom of confusion.

Mara was dead.

She was _dead_.

Never to come back.

Never again would he taste her sweet but fiery kisses.

No longer would he be able to hear her growl playful threats.

He would never be able to crack Mara's tough exterior and find the person that he had gotten only mere glimpses of during his short time with her.

Because she was dead.

Because the _Rebellion_ had killed her.

The Rebellion.

She was dead _because of the Rebellion_.

He wanted to believe that the Rebel Alliance was innocent in its involvement in this mess. He wanted to believe that she hadn't been shot down, that she had just had engine failure and crashed on some Imperial planet where she was _believed_ dead but wasn't _actually_ dead. He wanted to believe _a__nything_ but this.

It would be so much easier to accept her death if she had been in a large battle in a capable combat vehicle, instead of in a practically helpless supply ship trying to get materials to a planet that was being deprived of necessities by the Rebellion.

Ever since he'd destroyed the first Death Star—although he didn't like to admit it—he had sensed that the Rebel Alliance had slowly been changing...for the worst. Their ideals were becoming twisted, and more members were out for vengeance against the Empire rather than justice. This incident merely supported what he had felt.

Mara was _dead_.

And it was the _Rebellion_ that killed her...

Dark emotions swirled frantically around inside his head. He was angry, and he wanted desperately to lash out at the Rebellion—to do _anything_.

And lash out he would.

The Rebel Alliance would pay a terrible price for the murder of Mara Jade, Luke vowed.

A _terrible_ price.

* * *

"My mast—" Vader started, but Palpatine held a hand up for him to be silent.

After a moment, the Emperor broke out into a satisfied grin. "Can you feel that?"

The Sith Lord nodded, "His anger is strong."

"_Very_ strong," the ruler nodded. "With his help, there will be no problems in crushing the Rebellion. The three of us together shall be invincible."

"What about me, Master?" a voice asked from Palpatine's left-hand side.

"You shall remain hidden until the time is ripe," the Emperor answered.

"And when will that be?"

"Well, we may have to bring you out of hiding to use against him if his mind should change. But otherwise..." A malicious grin spread across the tyrant's face, and he let loose a low chuckle. "Otherwise, we will bring you out when he's done so many terrible things to the Rebellion that there's no chance they will _ever_ take him back."

Palpatine's evil cackle resounded through the nearly empty room, causing Mara Jade to shudder minutely. Though he probably didn't know it, Luke was merely a pawn in the Emperor's game...And Mara had never known Palpatine to lose in the game of life yet.


	20. Chapter Twenty

Darth Vader was in his meditation chamber, but Luke entered nevertheless and stood waiting for his father to acknowledge his presence.

After a long pause, Vader's chair slowly turned around to face Luke. "Yes, Son?"

Luke took a breath. "I know of a Rebel base that your spies haven't told you of."

And indeed Luke did. In fact, he knew of _several_ places that the Rebels were hidden, but this was one that he was _sure_ his sister would not be at. He was determined to make the Alliance pay for what they'd done, but he didn't want Han and his sister to be caught in the crossfire...He could always reach out through the Force and find out where she was, but she'd sense his probe and that would provide even _more_ difficulties.

Vader sensed that the youth wanted something, so he remained silent for Luke to continue. "I'll tell you as long as I get to fly a fighter ship during the battle."

"I'm sure the Emperor would not want to risk—" Vader was cut off by his son.

"It won't be a risk! I can fly ten times as good as those goons with my eyes closed!"

Vader paused in thought. "Is it a large base?"

"Does it matter?" Luke countered. "I know of a good strategy to use against them. It won't be hard to obliterate them all."

"Fine. Perhaps the Emperor will let you fly an Interceptor...And I might even join you. I haven't flown since the first Death Star battle."

Luke nodded quickly, a wicked grin on his face that belied the youthful excitement in his voice, "We can blow them right out of the sky!"

Vader gave an inward chuckle at his son's eagerness. But what he wouldn't admit to himself was that it was to mask his real unease at the thought of Luke's being the ruthless killing machine that he knew the boy could be with a little outside help...Outside help that the Emperor was giving him.

What in space had he gotten his son into?

* * *

Two dead bodies, five cups of kaff, and three bruised necks later, Luke had finally gotten the Imperial officers to see that his stategy was best. It wasn't that he was arrogant—it was that they were prejudiced against him from the start and wouldn't admit that they couldn't think of any better options.

The Emperor had easily agreed to let Luke take part in combat, something that disconcerted Vader, who had the feeling that the ruler had several plans for the future that included his son performing a role that even _Vader _wouldn't want his son to have anything to do with. Vader also had the feeling that not all of Palpatine's plans included Vader's survival.

It was well-known to all—although Palpatine hated the fact with a passion—that Imperial spies weren't that hard for the Rebellion to find, so it was decided that the strike should be made soon and swift.

Rebels couldn't be killed too quickly for the malicious ruler's taste, so Palpatine, Luke, and Vader decided to go ahead and take the _Executor_ and its TIE fighters to the base. It shouldn't be too difficult of a task for the swift fighters and Super-Class Star Destroyer. Palpatine told the two that they would be partners since the rest of the squadrons already had assigned wingmen. Neither argued the point. _They _knew that they were the two best pilots in what was left of the Imperial Fleet...Together they would be unstoppable.

* * *

Luke finished pulling on his black glove, made sure his scopes were still working, fumbled with his helmet, and then hit the communications console button. "Eradicator Two checking in."

They weren't originally called the Eradicators. Instead, that had merely been referred to as "Black Squadron.",Luke had insisted on taking on a more imaginative name, and they had finally decided on "Eradicator Squadron," a name that Luke _still_ didn't like. However, Luke knew better than to push his luck.

He and Vader were the only two with TIE Interceptors in the Erad Squad (a nickname that Luke had privately given it), but a few of the other TIE squadrons' members had an Interceptor or two that they called theirs.

Everyone checked in, and they had only a few minutes to wait before the _Executor_ (which their ships were docked in) shuddered slightly to signify the drop into realspace. Quickly, the hangar bay was opened, and the TIE fighters lifted off and out into space towards the planet where the base was.

Taking potshots at the base and causing some pretty flames to shoot up weren't enough for Luke, who wanted more action, but he knew he wouldn't have long to wait. The Imperial TIE Fighters managed to make some crucial blows before the Rebels sent up a squad of X-wings, Y-wings, A-wings, and a few miscellaneous ships to intercept them.

After a brief check to make sure that the fighter pilots weren't any that _he_ knew, Luke got off a few critical blasts that incapacitated a Y-wing, obliterated an A-wing, and caused an X-wing to tumble into a heavily modified cruiser which exploded on impact with the small fighter.

His focus was concentrated solely in one direction, so Vader's call over the communications unit of "Watch out!" was the only warning he had of the A-wing on his tail.

It made a few good hits, causing Luke's cockpit to flare briefly. He jerked the joystick to the side and managed to get out of its line of fire, then he veered sharply to the other side and managed to pull up behind it. The A-wing tried to juke in various ways to divert his fire, but he took a deep breath, concentrated on his anger and annoyance to touch the Dark Side, then let off a laser blast that managed to hit the A-wing's engine and cause enough damage to make it careen into the Rebel base, blowing up several of the B-wings that had been about to lift off.

He let out a triumphant yell over the speaker, and Vader's metallic-sounding voice came over the comm: "Good job, Eradicator Two."

Just then Vader managed to give a crippling blow that caused a Y-wing and X-wing to collide. "You're not so bad yourself," Luke chuckled.

* * *

The base was easily incapacitated, and each time Luke used the Dark Side, his aggressive feelings were more accessible than they had been before. The Emperor was becoming increasingly "proud," while Vader was becoming increasingly worried. Luke told Palpatine of a few more Rebel bases, which he and Vader personally "visited" in order to make sure that no Rebels were left. Things were beginning to look really bad for the Rebel Alliance. 


	21. Chapter TwentyOne

"Are you _sure_?" Padmé directed her question at the communications center. Leia walked in and managed to hear the inquiry.

"Positive," a male voice answered.

"Thanks," the ex-queen smiled. She turned it off, then she started at her daughter's presence.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Leia apologized while giving her an inquisitive look.

Padmé reassured her, "It's quite all right. I've just had word that Luke, Vader, and Palpatine are _all_ on board the Executor, which is currently residing in the Anoat system near Bespin. A quick hyperspace jump, and we're there. Tell the boys they need to strap in."

Leia disappeared into the back and came back with Jar Jar and the unhappy smuggler. She sat beside her mother, and, with a sullen look, Han sat in the chair beside the Gungan. After everyone buckled up, the ship jumped back into hyperspace.

Padmé smiled. "It's time we get dressed."

* * *

And they did.

Leia thought she would feel clumsy in her Stormtrooper armor since it was made for someone several inches taller than her, but when Padmé had said that they were modified, she hadn't been lying. It wasn't that the suits were short, since that would raise suspicion, but the boots had wedges in them that made them appear taller, and they were actually quite comfortable.

The same couldn't be said for Han, who was looking very annoyed at having to wear a stiff-necked dark gray uniform. He kept complaining that when he'd had to leave the Imperial Navy he had thought he'd never have to wear such a uniform again. He also made several angry comments about his hair, which was jet-black and not as scruffy-looking as he was used to having it. A large artificial scar across his cheek, blue-colored contacts, and a cap completed his new look.

Jar Jar wasn't going incognito like they were, although before they boarded the _Executor_ they planned to slip cuffs onto his hands.

Han wasn't as sure of the plan's success as Padmé was. She insisted that she had the proper code clearance and alibi for the ship's having not checked in with the Super-Class Star Destroyer. If they wanted to get Luke back, then they had no choice but to trust her.

* * *

Han didn't know how in space Luke and Leia's mother managed it, but before he knew it he was leading the two "Stormtroopers" and his "prisoner" through the halls, listening to Padmé's quiet instructions on which halls to turn down. "What'd you do, stay up all night memorizing maps?"

"So?"

Han chuckled under his breath then tried to look menacing as he passed an Imperial officer who nodded at him gruffly. He lowered his chin in return, then after the man was out of earshot, he muttered something about lowly, condescending, strutting—And then he was jabbed by Leia's elbow before he could finish.

"This turbolift," Padmé muttered. They entered, and as soon as the doors closed, Jar Jar began complaining about the awkwardness of the cuffs.

Han rolled his eyes. "If you don't shut up, I'm gonna stick those cuffs up your—"

"Han!" Leia sharply reprimanded. Han turned to reply, but instead he started laughing. Leia looked slighted. "What's _your_ problem?"

"Sorry," Han smirked. "But you look like a bug in that thing!"

Leia Organa was spared a reply as the turbolift doors swiftly slid open. Padmé, smiling knowingly behind her helmet, gave Han further instructions.

He complied with them and murmured, "This doesn't _look_ like the prison floor."

"That's because it isn't," Padmé answered quietly.

"What?" Leia spoke up just a might too loud, and Han winced. It wasn't normal protocol for Stormtroopers to be chatting happily to their superiors.

"He's on the floor that has luxurious rooms for the top officers and other prestigious Imperials."

"Which means...?" Leia asked, a hint of dread in her voice.

"Either he's..." Padmé couldn't bring herself to say the words, but Leia understood nevertheless. "Or they just wanted to put him in a nice room with a lock..." That possibility sounded false even to her own ears, so she added, "Perhaps there are some circumstances that we don't know about."

Leia nodded in an almost involuntary manner. Han sensed her despair rising up and struggled to find something to say. Finally, he said, in as humorous of a voice as he could manage, "They probably put the kid up here with the stiff-necks to _bore_ him into switching sides." _Nice one, Solo,_ he groaned inwardly, annoyed at himself.

"Here," Padmé said sharply so that Leia wouldn't have enough time to get _too_ mad at the smuggler. After a quick glance around, she typed in a code in the door. "Jar Jar, in there."

"What?" the Gungan squawked.

"We don't need to be seen with you on this floor," Padmé soothed. _And I don't want _you_ to get hurt too if this gets bloody. _You_ didn't want to come on board anyway..._

"We have quite a ways to walk," she told him. "We'll be back. I promise."

Jar Jar Binks nodded, albeit a little sadly, and he went into the room. "Oooh, what's this?"

As the door slid shut, they heard a loud crash and winced.

Han was happy to get rid of Jar Jar, but Padmé spoke before he could say anything to that effect. "This way."

They indeed had quite a walk ahead of them. But finally Padmé instructed Han to stop in front of a door. Seeing no one in sight, she typed in the password.

"You memorized _that_ one too?" Solo sounded amazed.

"I've had a lot of time on my hands," she replied.

The door slid quietly open. The sight that greeted them was the rescuee sprawled out on the couch, polishing his lightsaber handle.

Leia's first thought was: _I've finally found Luke!_ Her second thought was: _Why is he just sitting there with his lightsaber instead of slicing through the door?_ Her first thought overrode the second, however, and she exclaimed in elation, "Luke!"

Luke had been deeply engrossed in thought when they entered, so he hadn't sensed their arrival. But Leia's voice hit him like he'd been shot. His head jerked up, and his face was drained of color, as if he'd seen a ghost. Then his face brightened with joy, and he cried out, "Leia!" But his expression dimmed just as quickly as it had lit up. "What are you _doing_ here?"

"What do you think we're doing, kid? We're here to rescue your hide from ol' Wrinkly-Face!" Han said, regarding him skeptically. By all rights, the Jedi should have been enthralled at their appearance.

But he wasn't. Luke stood up, shaking his head frantically. "You shouldn't be here. Go! You _must_ _go_!"

"But Luke—" Leia protested, but her brother cut her off.

"You have to leave!" He paused in the motion of shooing them out. Chewbacca wouldn't fit in a Stormtrooper suit, so who was with Leia and Han? "Who's that?" he gestured towards the person beside Leia.

Before Leia answered, a voice behind them spoke. "Your mother."

Luke's eyes widened as they took in Emperor Palpatine's appearance, and he instantly berated himself for not sensing the ruler. But what the Emperor said finally sunk in, and he threw a shocked look at his armor-covered mother.

"I knew you would come, Padmé. Your weakness always was your concern for others."

"At least people are tangible. Power is not," Padmé replied quietly.

"You've never embraced the Dark Side, so how would you know?"

Padmé didn't reply.

Han had stepped protectively in front of Leia, who had willingly hid behind him. Leia might have been untrained, but she could still sense the evil that wafted off Palpatine in waves.

"Ah, young girl. I knew you would come for your brother. I have been waiting for you. I would have thought your mother would have found the information I planted sooner...But perhaps she was merely being cautious."

Luke stepped forward warningly, absently fingering his lightsaber. "You _promised_!"

"Your _father_ promised," Palpatine corrected, looking around tauntingly. "And I don't see him in here..."

"You piece of rancor s—"

Palpatine cut Luke off. "Be careful what you say, young Skywalker. I might decide that it is a lot less trouble to train your sister in the Dark Side instead of continuing your training."

"Over my dead body," Luke hissed through clenched teeth.

"Not yet, Skywalker. Not yet."

"Let them leave. You have me," Luke said, his face hard.

The Emperor shook his head. "But I don't want just you, boy. No. They must either join me or die."

"I'd rather die," Leia spoke up, stepping out from behind Han, who put a restraining hand on her. But she shook free of his grip.

"So be it." Palpatine turned to Luke. "Kill her."

Luke's eyes widened, and he stared at Palpatine. Stunned, he addressed him, "You must be mad."

The tyrant's only reply was a wicked cackle.

Fire dancing in his eyes, Luke lifted his lightsaber, looking at it. "I could kill you."

Palpatine nodded, unafraid. "You could...But then you wouldn't be able to get your revenge on the murderers of Jade."

Han stared blankly, and Leia and Padmé removed their helmets, a bit confused. They weren't sure if Jade was a planet, human, alien, animal...

"Were you wondering why they were so slow to attempt to come to your aid? It's because they had a slight detour to take care of..." Palpatine looked straight into Luke's eyes as he spoke. The youth swayed to the side slightly, almost hypnotized by the ruler's voice.

"Don't listen to what he says, Luke!" Han tried to break through his reverie. "He's lying!"

Palpatine hated to resort to Force persuasion. It cheapened victory. But Luke had a strong will, and he was putting up quite a mental fight against it, making Palpatine's Force persuasion more challenging.

But he wasn't quite succeeding in convincing him, which made matters worse.

While attempting Force persuasion, the evil leader tried to prey on the boy's fears and claw at the deep wounds the boy still harbored from Mara's supposed death. He also tried to bring his insecurities to the surface.

Luke Skywalker trembled, his feet firmly bolted in place. He shook his head to clear it, but it was a wasted effort.

"What's going on?" Han muttered.

"The Emperor's being sick, that's what!" Padmé snarled under her breath, stepping forward. "Luke, look at me!"

The boy lifted his eyes to hers, and then he flinched away.

Palpatine was getting angry. "Don't mind her. She is your traitorous mother. She left you when you were just a baby on a harsh desert planet where you were more likely to have your head bashed in by a Tusken Raider than live up to your destiny as a superior pilot and Dark Side wielder. She doesn't care about you."

"Don't believe him, Luke!" Padmé insisted. "I had to leave, or Vader would have found us, and—"

"A husband deserves to know that he has a son and to be able to see him grow up!" Palpatine growled.

"And a mother doesn't deserve to be hunted by her ex-husband!" she shot back.

"How could I hunt you if I thought you were dead?" a low voice rumbled from behind them.

The Emperor gave Padmé a smug look. He didn't _need_ back-up...But it couldn't hurt to have some every now and then.

Padmé turned to face her husband. "Ani."

"Padmé," Vader nodded back to her, feeling a brief pang.

Leia backed behind Han again, fear evident on her face. Not him. Not now. Not here.

"What a touching family reunion," Palpatine bit out sarcastically. "Now, if only you were all on the same side, matters would be so much easier."

Somehow, Leia managed to control her fear, and she spat, "We would've been together a lot sooner if you hadn't worked so hard to tear us apart!"

"I'm afraid, my dear, I wasn't the one doing the tearing."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" an annoyed Han demanded.

"These two were having marital difficulties _before_ I arrived on the scene."

"We were not!" Padmé flared. "_You_ were the one that tore us apart! _You_ were the one that lured Anakin to the Dark Side to suit _your_ purposes. You don't care about him or anyone else. All _you_ care about is power!"

"You were once a queen. But even then you never had any _true_ power, so you don't know what it's like. Luke does, however. Don't you, boy?" Palpatine fastened his gaze on the indecisive youth. Hearing no reply, he continued, "Yes. He's held a helpless life in his hands and dealt with it appropriately. Isn't that right, young Skywalker?"

Still no answer.

The Emperor smiled maliciously. "He murdered the insolent man in the way that his father has done to incompetents many a time...And he did it despite the fact that we didn't require him to do it."

Luke's guilt was slowly rising to the surface, so Palpatine trudged on. "And he's killed several Rebel fighters as well...And he was the one that _asked_ for permission to do so."

Luke's breathing was speeding up, and his gaze flicked to everyone in the room. In the blink of an eye, he had his saber out, extinguished, and moving towards his heart. Anything to avoid seeing the hurt of betrayal in his friends' eyes.

But Vader sensed his desperate move and brought his red saber out to block Luke's just before it managed to touch skin.

His teeth gritted and his mind set, Luke slashed at Vader with a fury that he hadn't known he possessed. In that moment, he didn't care about Light or Dark. He stopped bothering himself with his confused feelings for his family and friends. All he was focused on now was the battle...and getting out of everything.

Out of trouble, out of decision-making...out of life.

Life had never been kind to him, the naive farmboy with strange powers he didn't understand. Life had separated him from his parents, turned his father into a monster, and stranded him on a forsaken planet located in the Outer Rim that was full of seedy characters, dangerous geographical features, and multitudes of life-threatening creatures. Life had torn his sister from him and then thrown them back together in a cruelly ironic setting.

Life was always taking. It had taken his hand, taken his mentors, taken his friend, taken his...soulmate. Yes. Though he hadn't admitted it to himself before now, he thought of Mara Jade as his soulmate. At least, she _had been__ his soulmate_...

But now, due to cruel fate, he was doomed to either to wander among the galaxy alone...or not at all. And the latter option held more appeal to him than the former.

And so, he fought with all his soul. Not to win. Not to lose. Just to die. That was all that he wanted. Death was the last experience life held for him now.

Darth Vader was _also_ fighting with all of his soul and his strength. But _his_ battle wasn't to take a life. His battle was to save one.

His son had been thrown into so many trials and tribulations, courtesy of impartial destiny...And Vader felt deep guilt raging inside his heart. The problems that Luke had had to face were at _his_ hand. And he hated himself for it.

He'd hated himself for years, but only now—when his only son was on the verge of committing suicide—could he admit it to himself.

But he was unable to change the past. All he could do now was try to salvage the present.

And that was proving to be very difficult.


	22. Chapter TwentyTwo

It was a great display of trust that Palpatine had shown Mara when he had allowed her to view the surveillance cameras that had been planted in Luke Skywalker's room, and despite Mara's having constructed a strong mental barrier to block her presence from Skywalker, his turmoiled emotions were so strong that she could detect a more than a hint of what they consisted of.

That, and the look on his face that she saw on the vidscreen, caused her heart to wrench in agony.

Palpatine didn't care about Luke's feelings. He just wanted to mold the boy into a worthwhile servant, and when the challenge was over, he would toss Luke aside like yesterday's garbage.

All the memories that Mara had of her life were of her servitude to Palpatine. It was always 'Kill this person,' 'Carry out this order,' 'Do this,' 'Do that...'

Well, she was tired of following orders. She wanted to take an action of her own choosing.

It might be the last thing she _ever_ did...But if that were the price she had to pay, then she would gladly take the consequences.

She would show Palpatine that she had more backbone than he had _ever_ imagined...

* * *

_Hum, buzz, slash, spark, parry._

Luke paid no heed to Leia's, Han's, and Padmé's desperate pleas. All he concentrated on was the duel. To him, there was nothing else.

Palpatine stood to the side gleefully, giving words of encouragement that Luke didn't hear. Palpatine kept speaking despite his knowledge of this, however. His words were more to annoy the spectators than to urge on the fighting Jedi.

Vader was very careful with his blows, making sure that neither _his_ lightsaber _nor_ Luke's weapon buried itself in the boy's chest.

A part of the Sith Lord's mind that wasn't concentrating on the battle observed Luke's blank eyes. Usually, they were bright and full of life, but now they were mere shallow pools that looked like they had no story to tell and never had.

The youth's face held a grim line of determination as he fought with vigor, swinging a blow at Vader that nearly knocked the man's saber out of his hand.

Somehow, Vader managed to keep hold of his weapon, and then he attempted to deprive Luke of his. But the boy had a death-grip on his saber that was not _about_ to be released.

The Dark Lord was disappointed by his failure in getting rid of Luke's lethal lasersword, but still he continued on, hoping that an opening would present itself.

"Luke!" a female voice yelled, providing Vader with a welcome moment of distraction in which he knocked his son's lightsaber onto the ground and then called it to him via the Force.

"Mara?" Luke's eyes were shining with surprise and elation, the saber long forgotten.

"Jade," Palpatine warningly growled. "You have disobeyed me..."

"You're alive," Luke whispered, stunned.

Mara merely nodded, and the Emperor spoke again. "Leave us now, Jade, before I decide to have you executed here and now."

Luke stepped forward threateningly, an angry gleam in his sapphire eyes. "You'll have to go through me, first."

"You dare to challenge _me_, Skywalker?" the tyrant chuckled. "You are speaking empty threats that mean nothing to one with _my_ power."

"You're wrong, as usual. I have more power in _these two hands—_" the youth held them up in emphasis, "than _you_ have in your _entire_ body. Power isn't about using your anger to achieve an end. Power is being able to control yourself and your feelings and triumph over the evil that lurks inside your soul. Power is about doing what you can do for others, not giving into temptation. _You_ don't have power. All that you have is a failing government full mostly of people that you've warped into thinking that they want to serve you."

Mara's first thought was that the farmboy's explanation had pretty much summed up everything, and her second thought was to wonder why in space she was entertaining rebellious thoughts.

But deep in her heart, she knew why.

She didn't know how, and she didn't know when, but somehow she had fallen in love with the Jedi that she'd dubbed 'farmboy.' She had finally succumbed to the pull of a black hole from which there was no escape.

Yes, she'd fallen in love with Luke. Hopelessly and eternally.

Forever.

* * *

There were only so many times that Palpatine would let himself be insulted by a Jedi without inflicting punishment upon him. This particular Jedi had gone over the limit.

The only warning that Luke had was Palpatine's raising of his hands. But before Luke could react, blue lightning poured forth from the evil ruler's fingertips and coursed through Luke's body.

Luke let out a loud cry of pain and slumped to the floor, his hands crossed over his stomach.

Palpatine continued his angry assault, and Luke painfully swiped at him with a hand, missed, and then kicked at him.

The Emperor stumbled backwards just barely perceptibly, and Luke brought himself weakly to his feet and charged at Palpatine like a rampaging bantha.

All of this happened in a manner of seconds, giving little time for anyone else to respond to the change of events. Leia and Mara cried out Luke's name simultaneously, and Han and Padmé watched the strange blue electricity pass from the aged man to the youth. Vader stared down at the two sabers in his hand, mentally weighing the possible effects of the actions that he could choose to take.

Instead of running into his victim, Luke collided with a Force-created bubble and fell back onto the floor. Palpatine laughed tauntingly and continued to make the electricity flow through the boy's weakening body.

Gasping, Luke somehow managed to stand up again, and he closed his eyes. He concentrated on the Force and managed to absorb the energy into his body. Then he turned the energy outward and destroyed the Emperor's protective barrier. He rammed into the unsuspecting ruler, this time managing to execute the move, and the two tumbled to the floor, Palpatine still hitting him with lightning even as they fell.

One particularly strong bolt caused Skywalker to fly backwards, and the three females rushed over to him, only to find themselves blocked by an invisible Force field that the cruel Imperial leader had created. As he kept his attack coming, he snarled at them, "This is our battle _alone_!"

Thoughts fleeing from his mind, Luke kept crying out in pain and moaning for his father to come help him. Vader started to stride towards his son, but he found himself stopped by the Force barrier. He watched helplessly.

Somehow, Luke constructed some sort of a plan through his increasing pain, and he tried to get a Force-hold on Palpatine's neck. However, his invisible grip was easily dissolved by Palpatine who kept laughing tauntingly. He tried to slow the ruler's heart as he had with the Deh'th'tu'thouw, but his attempt was again thwarted.

Letting out a final groan, he closed his eyes and was still. Palpatine poured a few more lightning bolts into the youth's body. Seeing no motion, he walked over to Luke and prodded him with a foot. He reached out to the Force to check his presence and sensed nothing but an empty hole. Then he leaned down to grab Luke's wrist and check his pulse.

—Only to find his throat being constricted by a hand with stronger-than-human strength. Panicked, Palpatine tried to pry Luke's hand off with the Force, but Luke had no intention of letting go.

_Fine,_ the Emperor snorted inwardly. He no longer needed _this_ body. He would take one of his clones'. It was a bit earlier than he had originally planned to switch, but no matter.

But before Palpatine could do so, for Luke, Vader, and him, everything went black.


	23. Chapter TwentyThree

Or at least, it felt like everything had gone black.

It took a moment, but Palpatine and Vader finally realized that the feeling that they had suddenly lost all their senses was caused by loss of the Force, the work of one or more ysalamiri.

The nearly-asphyxiated Palpatine gasped and clawed at his throat, looking with angry, questioning, and surprised eyes at the Jedi whose hand was still firmly locked around his neck. He struggled to get loose, but the youth's strength surpassed his decaying body's.

Luke flatly informed the dying man, "You thought having ysalamiri on the ship might help control me. But you have many weak-minded officers that were easily persuaded to pick them up and then come here. Now what you once thought would help you will now kill you."

"Jedi, you haven't seen the last of me!" Palpatine croaked before slumping loosely onto the ground, a permanent look of animosity and disgust etched onto his face.

With a last look at the man that he had just killed, Luke's world went black again.

* * *

"Luke!" Leia cried, rushing over to her brother.

Mara slowly walked over to Palpatine, staring down at his dead body. In a way, she had helped kill him...

He was her _master_...

_Master_...

She had been born to serve her _master_...

Her _master_...

Vader appeared at her side and quietly spoke. "You're free now, Jade. You no longer have to obey his commands."

Mara was having second thoughts. "He was my _master!_" she shouted, attracting Han's, Leia's, and Padmé's attention. But she didn't care.

"He took you away from your _home_, Mara. He never gave you a choice in whether or not you _wanted_ to serve him. Now you can do as you wish." For the first time, Vader didn't call her by her surname.

"But I was born to serve _him_."

Vader shook his head. "No. He lied. He lied to you, and he lied to me. You don't have to serve anyone but yourself."

Nodding, but still not believing, Mara turned to Skywalker. His sister, friend, and mother were all crowded around him.

"Luke," Padmé prompted quietly. Apart from his shallow breathing, the Jedi didn't move. Leia tried to call his name, but she was likewise unsuccessful. She prodded him then looked at her mother desperately.

Padmé lifted her head, "Mara."

Startled to hear the woman speak her name, Mara came to Padmé's side. "Yes?"

"You try," Padmé suggested gently.

Unsure of what exactly she was supposed to do, Mara knelt down beside him. "Luke?" she whispered, delicately sliding her fingers across his cheek.

Slowly, his eyes opened, a deep misty blue that was fogged by confusion. They took in Mara's features and cleared somewhat. "Mara?" He paused in confused thought. "The Emperor, is he—?"

"Dead," Mara replied simply. Her master's murderer was in front of her. And instead of slicing his throat, she wanted to kiss his lips.

Some loyal servant she was.

"That's great! That means that—" Luke's face fell. "What about—?"

"Me?" Vader said softly. Sadly, he continued to speak. "Palpatine's lies enslaved me to the Dark Side. When I heard of my Padmé's death..."

"I didn't die," Padmé walked over to him and placed a hand on his arm. What she said was obvious, but the way she said it made clear what she meant. "It was my handmaiden." She gave a sorrowful smile, "Sabé...The young woman who took my place as queen so many times...She had a terminal illness and insisted that she be a part in faking my death when I'd shown some interest in disappearing. She was going to die soon anyway, and she begged for me to let her help..." Padmé took a breath. "She caught me at a weak moment, so I agreed. Me, Yoda, and Obi-Wan had her body cremated before there could be any blood tests done...I still miss her."

Somewhat tentatively, Vader placed his arm around her. It had been so long since he'd shown someone affection, and he wasn't re-accustomed to it yet...Plus, there was a chance that the woman he had betrayed all of those years ago wouldn't even want him _near_ her.

She stiffened at first, but then she melted into him and let herself have a good cry for the first time in years. Evidently, Sabé wasn't the only one who had caught her at a weak moment.

Han put an arm around Leia, averting his eyes to give Padmé some privacy, and then he grinned down at Luke smugly. Luke rolled his eyes, ignoring him, then he brought his eyes to Mara's face. She hesitantly stroked his cheek and brought her hand down to rest on his chest.

"Thank you," Luke whispered.

Mara's brow furrowed in confusion, "For what?"

"For coming...I'm not sure what would have happened if you hadn't."

"Oh, Luke," she whispered, smiling. A lone tear streaked down her face.

He brought his hand up and wiped it away, cupping her cheek. He felt several eyes on him and gave a quick grin. Then he brought the slightly unsure Mara's head down to his and lightly placed his lips on hers, snaking in his tongue in a mischievous manner.

She was a little surprised that he would display such affection in front of his family, but she willingly deepened the kiss.

It was a kiss of hope and new-found love, a sort of toast to the future.

_Their_ future, she added mentally.

Vaguely, she was aware that Han was cat-calling and Vader was laughing at the smuggler. The small part of her that heard Vader's laughter decided that it was a good sound. Not a taunting laugh like the old Darth Vader might have made.

The two finally broke free, gasping for breath.

"'Atta boy, kid!" Han whooped.

"Han," Leia elbowed him sternly. But she grinned brightly at her brother.

"Leia," Vader called for his daughter's attention. Her face dimmed, and she looked at him warily. "Do you think that the Rebellion would mind having a Super-Class Star Destroyer in their fleet?"

Han's eyes widened. "Would they ever!"

Leia wasn't so sure. "What reason do they have to trust an offer like that?"

Vader shrugged. "I'm going to tell the crew of my intentions and let people defect with me if they so desire. If the Rebellion decides that my flagship is more trouble than it's worth, I shall deal crippling blows to the Imperials remnants on my own."

Mara helped Luke to his feet, and Leia heaved a sigh. "If only you weren't so conspicuous."

"Conspicuous he does not have to be," a strange-sounding voice from near the wall stated.

Everyone swerved, and simultaneously, Vader, Luke, and Padmé gasped: "Yoda?"

"Plan that, did you?" the wizened blue ghost chuckled. A second ghost appeared beside him, and elbowed him. "Ow! Have to do that you did not!"

"Sorry," the new ghost apologized to the humans. "I've found that little alien ghosts named Yoda tend to be long-winded." Obi-Wan smiled, giving a reprimanding look to the long-eared creature beside him.

Vader had to force himself not to shy away from the ghost of his former master. He had _murdered_ the man, yet here was Obi-Wan appearing in front of him with no apparent bad will.

"Heal him, you can," Yoda ignored the other spirit.

"I see it, but I don't believe it," Han whispered, backing up a few steps. He wasn't used to the paranormal. Mara put a reassuring arm on him, and he gave her a wary look.

"How?" Vader questioned. It was almost worse to talk to Yoda since _he'd _been the one that hadn't wanted to have him trained in the first place.

"If work together the four of you do, soon Anakin will be like the rest of you." Yoda looked pleased at his rhyme and chuckled.

Obi-Wan Kenobi groaned, placing a see-through hand on his face. "See what _I_ have to live with for all eternity? He's been making up cheesy poems for weeks!"

"Help guide you through the process will I, if agree you will to e'er remain a Jedi." Yoda was on a roll.

"Yes, I promise," the man that was not quite Darth Vader and not quite Anakin Skywalker whispered.

"Then listen will you, and soon we'll be through."


	24. Chapter TwentyFour

And the healing process _was _quick.

Vader was not too happy to find out that he'd been played for a fool. It turned out that he could have been healed years ago, had not the cunning and ambitious Palpatine had his surgeons implant a few microscopic devices which he hadn't picked up with his repeated Force scans of his body. Instead of the medical doctors helping him recover from the lava ordeal, they had mostly made him _worse_.

With Luke's, Mara's, and even a little bit of Leia's help, they managed to crush the electronic devices in his body into small wastes that would be easily flushed out of his body. The ghosts disappeared soon after the healing process was over, and, tentatively, he removed his helmet.

Instantly, his senses were assaulted.

He could _smell._ No longer would his nose only be brought filtered air. The slight metallic scent of the bridge came to him, along with various other scents that he couldn't quite sort out yet.

His eyes no longer had a dark helmet obscuring their vision, and for once they could look at something other than his meditation chamber. The beautiful sight of the woman he once called his wife tore at his heart. He had almost forgotten what various colors had looked like!

His life support suit was off, and he took a deep breath. The echoing, hissing noise that he was so accustomed to hearing was no longer there.

Relief flooded his system.

He felt just as he had when he was younger!

His joints throbbed briefly as if to correct him. All right, so he felt _almost_ as good as had when he had been just a reckless youth living for the moment. Close enough.

Many of his scars had healed, although a few remained (nothing that couldn't be removed by surgery), and he had only to gradually expose his face to sunlight and wait patiently for his hair to return before he would be back to what could be considered normal.

He and Padmé had quite a few issues to work out, but she had made a silent truce with him until they had time later to privately have a discussion.

She smiled at him. "Ready to make your announcement to the ship?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," he replied simply.

"Oh, can we make a brief side-trip first?" she asked, trying to sound offhand.

"Sure. Why?"

"Because I'm sure Jar Jar will have wrecked half the ship by now."

* * *

Surprisingly enough, after the announcement was made about the Emperor's and Vader's death (it was decided that the Rebellion wasn't likely to welcome Vader with open arms, so he was going to go to them as Anakin Skywalker, "forced" pilot for the Empire that had managed to bring about the defection of the _Executor_ and some of its crew members), many crew members wanted to also go over to the Rebel Alliance. Several people had been given no choice in serving the Emperor, and others had stayed because of the fear of what might happen if they got on Vader's or Palpatine's bad side.

There were a few riots, but nothing that couldn't be handled by Vader, Luke, and Mara.

Leia was still slightly suspicious of Anakin (Han didn't trust him completely, but he trusted Luke's judgment, so he tried to forgive the man), but that was to be expected from a Rebel Leader.

The group confiscated weapons from the defectors, so that spies would not be of harm. The Force came in handy for them, since they could tell who was lying and who wasn't.

Those still loyal to the Imperial cause were peacefully sent out in escape pods onto a neutral planet where they could find transportation off-planet if they wished.

At last, they were in hyperspace, headed towards a very well-defended Rebel base that could easily take on a Star Destroyer with its weapons powered down (something that Leia had insisted on).

When Leia, Padmé, Luke, and Mara were chatting (Jar Jar was in the medbay having a bacta dip due to an unfortunate run-in with a startled Imperial), Han cornered Anakin Skywalker nervously. Anakin was amused at the smuggler's agitation, and he was still ecstatic about seeing his Gungan friend again. "What do you want, Solo?" Gone was the deep inhuman voice he'd had in the suit. Of course, in a way he sounded the same, but the tones were somehow softened.

"I ah...I want you to know that...my, uh, _intentions_...are honorable," Han managed.

"Intentions?" Anakin played dumb.

"Towards...your daughter."

"And what intentions are these?" Anakin was having fun rattling the other man.

"Ah, well...that is—" Han was interrupted by the chuckling man, who was still intimidating even though he was no longer in his frightening black armor.

"I know what you mean, Captain Solo. And while I don't exactly approve of your job as a smuggler—" Han was about to object, but Anakin cut him off, "I still believe that you will do everything within your power to protect Leia."

Han sighed. He was glad _that_ was over with. He started to walk off, and so he just barely caught Anakin's whispered: "I wish she trusted me to protect her the way she trusts you."

Han Solo continued walking, but his conscience tugged at him, so he turned around. "Look..." Anakin gave him a questioning gaze. "Leia has a lot that she needs to come to terms with. After all, you held us captive, tortured us, froze me in carbonite..." Anakin winced. He'd hoped that incident wouldn't be brought up. "Just give her time."

The eldest Skywalker nodded. "She can have as much time as she needs."

"Don't worry." Han had a sudden urge to pat the man on the back, but he suppressed it. Since when did _he_ fraternize with _Darth Vader_? And since when did he reassure the man?

_You're turning into an old softie, Solo,_ he chuckled inwardly as he went over to Leia's side and smiled down at her.

Seeing that Anakin was alone, Padmé quietly walked over to him.

With a hidden smile, Luke watched his parents talk. It looked like they were finally trying to resolve their issues.

He glanced at Mara and gave her a soft smile.

Yes, just about everything was right in the galaxy now. Leia and Han had each other, his mother and father seemed to have a good chance of getting back together...And he had Mara.

Mara, the fiesty, stubborn, brilliant, beautiful young woman that he loved.

Fate would never be able to tear them apart. They were together forever.

Now, they had only to round up Threepio and Artoo, as well as find something safe for that strange Jar Jar character to do. Then, everything would be perfect.

As it should be.


End file.
